Oil marketing giants Conoil Plc, 11 Plc, Total Nigeria Plc, Ardova Plc, MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, OVH Energy Marketing Limited, and NNPC Retail have been selected among the companies to sell refined petroleum products, in particular fuel produced by the $20 billion Dangote Refinery, to Nigerians.
Their selection drives up momentum among stakeholders as the facility gets ready to kick-start production of diesel and aviation fuel.
As part of the development arising from the Dangote Refinery’s readiness to address Nigeria’s long-standing problem with the importation of refined crude products, members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) have expressed readiness to kickstart distribution once commercial terms are finalised.
Clement Isong, CEO of MOMAN, confirmed that all members have registered with Dangote, anticipating the prompt availability of products in their stations.
“We have all registered with Dangote so that we can buy and sell. All my members are registered with Dangote. Whenever the product is ready and starts coming out, you will see it in our filling stations,” Isong affirmed.
Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, conveyed his gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and various regulatory bodies for their support, marking the refinery’s pivotal moment.
“We have started the production of diesel and aviation fuel, and the products will be in the market within this month once we receive regulatory approvals. This is a big day for Nigeria. We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone.
“This is an important achievement for our country as it demonstrates our ability to develop and deliver large capital projects. This is a game changer for our country, and I am very fulfilled with the actualisation of this project,” Dangote stated.
The refinery, located in Lagos, has already received six million barrels of crude oil, paving the way for production after overcoming earlier supply challenges.
The refinery boasts the capability to load 2,900 trucks daily, adhering to stringent international standards.
Isong detailed the process, stating, “They have loading ranks, over 90, so you can take your truck to go and pick. You can also use vessels to pick. Those are the two ways you pick products.”
“The refinery design complies with the World Bank, US EPA, European emission norms, and Department of Petroleum Resources emission/effluent norms, employing state-of-the-art technology,” the Dangote Refinery made in a statement stated.
Situated within the Dangote Industries Free Zone in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Project, an arm of Dangote Industries Limited, is a state-of-the-art facility with a daily crude oil refining capacity of 650,000 barrels.
This industrial complex spans approximately 2,635 hectares in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, functioning as a crucial hub for transforming crude oil into diverse and essential petroleum products, including diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, and kerosene.
Meanwhile, IPMAN and PETROAN are also set to meet with Dangote’s management, highlighting the widespread industry interest in the refinery.
Abubakar Maigandi, President of IPMAN, stressed the significance of the meeting for determining loading modalities.
Maigandi, in a conversation with Punch, mentioned that independent marketers wouldn’t be in a position to disclose the project cost of refined petroleum products until the loading commences.
“It is when we start loading that he can give us the price and then we will know how much to sell,” Maigandi stated.
Asked to state when IPMAN members would start loading, he replied, “We are going to hold a meeting with him this week. No date has been fixed yet for the appointment, but the meeting is to be held this week.”
While expectations run high for a potential reduction in fuel prices, industry leaders like Billy Gillis-Harry of PETROAN cautioned that multiple factors could influence pricing.
Gillis-Harry stressed the removal of logistics costs as a positive aspect but urged cautious optimism, noting that specifics would be revealed after product loading discussions.
He said, “It is difficult to give an exact figure because so many variables are at play.
“However, the fact that the crude oil that is being used is the one for domestic consumption, takes away the cost of freight and insurance from the total cost. So, if that has been removed, there is a likelihood that prices will be impacted positively to the benefit of Nigerians.
“But what exactly will be the price is to be awaited and worked out because, for instance, we don’t know how much he received the crude oil, whether it is in naira or dollar, and those are business information that sometimes is difficult to release.
“However, regardless of whatever the situation is, we should still expect a reprieve, some advantages should come to us. So that is my thinking.”
The PETROAN president criticised the petroleum product pricing templates from previous years, emphasising that the computations were unrealistic. “We kept writing and talking against it. So, of course, when it stopped, we were not surprised, because you cannot just do arm-chair projections on these things. There must be empirical values and these values vary day to day, hour to hour, and minute to minute,” he stated.
Gillis-Harry also mentioned that PETROAN had been engaging with the Dangote refinery’s management regarding the supply and distribution of products from the plant.
Note:
This story has been updated
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