NNPC deploys 100 trucks as Dangote refinery begins petrol distribution

In preparation for the Dangote Refinery’s scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, September 15, 2024, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has deployed 100 truck to the refinery’s fuel loading gantry in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

The state-owned oil company revealed on its official X (formerly Twitter) account that over 100 trucks have been mobilised to the facility with hundreds more en route as of Saturday afternoon.

Dangote Refinery is set to commence the distribution of its refined petrol to retail outlets across Nigeria starting this Sunday, BusinessDay’s findings have revealed.

Sources said the pump price of petrol will remain unchanged, despite the introduction of its product into the market. The initial daily allocation is expected to be 25 million litres, delivered through the NNPC Trading Limited at a cost of N765.99 to marketers.

“NNPC Trading Limited will continue to import a shortfall of 15 million litres to meet Nigeria’s daily demand for petrol estimated at 40-50 million litres a day,” a source said.

Dangote’s production is anticipated to influence billions of dollars in fuel trade both regionally and globally, as Nigeria continues to be a major importer of fuel. Last year, the country received nearly 250,000 barrels per day, primarily from Europe, according to data from the analytics firm Vortexa Ltd.

For decades, European refiners have benefited from a profitable market in Nigeria, where unreliable electricity supply has forced businesses in Africa’s fourth-largest economy to depend heavily on imported refined products, valued at $17 billion annually.

Traders and shipping data obtained by BusinessDay reveals that Nigeria’s new Dangote refinery is increasing gasoil exports to West Africa, taking market share from European refiners.

“As much as ‪300-400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity in Europe is at risk of closure because of rising global gasoline production,” Andon Pavlov, an analyst at Kpler, a global trade intelligence platform, said in a note.