The dispute surrounding the Dangote Refinery Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) pricing, which was made public by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on Monday, has left Nigerian petroleum merchants in a state of uncertainty, they claim.

This occurs in response to demands made by petroleum marketers for transparency over Dangote Refinery’s price disclosure for the gasoline it sold to NNPCL.

Marketers also pointed out that the nation’s daily gasoline demand, which was N50 million based on the most recent statistics from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, could not be met by local petroleum output.

In a separate interview, Abubakar Maigandi, the president of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and Billy Gillis-Harry, the president of PETROAN, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association, voiced similar demand.

Another rise in gas prices is imminent.

Recall that NNPCL released a list of Dangote Petrol retail pricing for all of its locations nationwide on Monday.

As per the latest fuel rates, a liter of petrol in Lagos State will cost N950.22. Oyo and other states in the South West would pay N960 for each liter of gasoline.

The price of gasoline in Kano, Kaduna, and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) would be N999.22 per liter.

Petrol would cost N980.2 in Imo and Rivers states as well as N1,019.22 in Borno State per liter.

The national fuel pump price may shortly increase, despite reports that the new prices have not been impacted.

It was noted that NNPCL has not yet disclosed the price at which it will sell marketers—the proprietors of the vast majority of filling stations in Nigeria—Dangote Refinery Petrol.
The cost of gasoline at Independent Marketers’ filling stations is typically more than N100 more than that of NNPCL retail locations, meaning that a liter of fuel might cost up to N1,200.

Dangote Fuel Price Scandal

Over the weekend, Dangote Refinery started distributing gasoline for the first time, with NNPCL serving as an official off-taker.

According to NNPCL, they were charged N898 per liter for gasoline supplied by Dangote Refinery.

On the other hand, Dangote Group criticized NNPCL while withholding the full cost of its first gasoline sale.

The dispute around gas prices that followed the development made the industry’s predicament worse.

Gillis-Harry: Why Dangote Refinery ought to notify marketers of the price of gasoline

In response, Gillis-Harry, the president of PETROAN, demanded complete transparency in the oil and gas industry.

As per his statement, before marketers buy the product, the Dangote Refinery must disclose to all relevant parties the precise cost of its gasoline.

Given that NNPCL has disclosed the selling price, Dangote Refinery ought to inform us of the price at which it is selling gasoline.

“We ought to be able to precisely determine the price that Dangote Refinery Petrol is charging us. We ought to be aware of NNPCL’s approach to us. We are currently in limbo,” he said.

IPMAN: NNPCL has not yet disclosed the pricing of Dangote Petrol to marketers.

The president of IPMAN, Maigandi, stated that he is awaiting the NNPCL to disclose the rates at which it will offer Dangote Petrol to distributors.

He expressed discontent with the scheme of things within the sector over the contradictory petrol pricing coming from Dangote Refinery and NNPCL.

“We are awaiting the NNPCL to announce the gas rates at which independent marketers will purchase fuel. They haven’t.

We buy directly from NNPCL rather than Dangote Refinery. Marketers are capable of surviving on zero.

Because it costs so much to purchase a product, marketers like us are unhappy about the high price of gasoline.

“Now that the Dangote Refinery has established its operations, let the government work to get the other refineries up and running. This could result in lower gasoline prices,” he stated.

Marketers: Nigeria cannot rely on the Dangote Refinery.

In response to a question regarding potential import substitution in light of the high cost of Dangote Refinery gasoline, Gillis-Harry stated, “Dangote Refinery produces approximately 25 million liters per day.” That is less than one cargo, at roughly 15,000 metric tonnes.

Additionally, NNPCL used to sell a lot of cargoes to depot owners, including some of our members, for distribution to Nigerians.

It basically indicates that we won’t be reliant on domestically generated petroleum products. A certain amount of importing is required to make up for the difference.