Dangote Refinery: NIMASA says petroleum import, revenue to decline

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said that the commencement of operations by the Dangote Refinery would lead to a drop in the agency’s revenue.

This, according to the agency, will come as a result of the drastic decline in the volume of ships importing petroleum products, which would also reduce the 3 percent freight levy collected on ships by the Agency.

Bashir Jamoh, director general of NIMASA, disclosed this recently during a courtesy visit by a delegation from Dangote Port operations, led by Akin Omole, managing director of Dangote Port Operations to NIMASA.

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Jamoh, however, said the Refinery will have economic growth and long-term benefits to the Nigerian masses, which is far better than the immediate revenue NIMASA could generate from oil imports.

He assured of the Agency’s commitment to ensuring that the business of the Dangote Ports and Refinery is not hindered by the implementation of the regulatory instrument under the provisions of the Cabotage law.

Jamoh said the Agency will work with Dangote Ports to also ensure the Group does not breach any regulation of the Federal Government as regards Wet Cargo affreightment, and both parties agreed to set up a working committee to address the operational concerns at the refinery within 14 days.

“I suggest we set a joint committee with membership from NIMASA and Dangote to sit down and look at issues objectively. Our priority is to ensure regulatory implementation does not impede the operations of Dangote Ports and by extension, Dangote Refinery,” he explained.

On his part, Akin Omole, managing director of Dangote Ports Operations said his team will ensure that the refinery is not in breach of the Cabotage Act.

“We talked about business being done in a way that there is no obstruction, no delay. In shipping, a day’s delay is a huge cost and could amount to an average of over $50,000 demurrage on a ship per day. So, we want to be sure that these kinds of delays are not experienced. All bottlenecks, and hindrances that will cause the delay will be addressed jointly between our team and the NIMASA team,” he said.