Oil markets, on Monday, clarified that the refined petroleum products from the $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery are to be sold in naira and not in the United States dollar as speculated in some quarters.
Gatekeepers News reports that the National Public Relations Officer, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association Of Nigeria (IPMAN), Ukadike Chinedu, admitted that it was true that crude oil, being an international commodity, was sold to the plant in dollars and stated that this would not make the plant sell refined petroleum products to the Nigerian market in dollars.
He noted that other businesses operated in Nigeria by Dangote were carrying out their transactions in naira.
“The legal tender in Nigeria is the naira. The cement being sold by Dangote Cement is done in naira, not in dollar. The spaghetti and other essential commodities that he is involved in are all sold in naira.
“So why should one think that he will now sell fuel in dollars? Except for the offshore sales for those who want to move the refined products out of Nigeria using vessels to transport them to other countries. Such customers may get theirs in dollar equivalent,” Ukadike told Punch News.
He, however, noted that another important thing was for the Nigerian government to be able to close up the widening gap in the foreign exchange rate.
“If the exchange rate for the dollar is low, petroleum products would have been cheap in Nigeria, because the products are imported. So I believe that Dangote will definitely sell the products in our local currency, which is naira,” he stated.
Asked if marketers had been briefed on whether products would be sold in naira or dollars, considering the fact that crude was supplied to the plant in dollars, Ukadike replied, “No, the pricing template has not come out. What is going on now is legislation. The template is not yet out.
“And I must state that there is no way the NNPC will bring out its template in naira and Dangote will bring out its own in dollars. It is not possible! So for the cost of their products, I think they are still trying to fix the prices with the regulatory agencies of the Federal Government.
“They will also look at the feasibility of the market and other factors, before announcing their prices for diesel and aviation fuel, which are the products they are producing now. So the price is not out, for once it is out, you’ll be informed.”
Ukadike also stated that more oil marketers were registering with the refinery, adding that the IPMAN had been at the forefront of the registration process.
“More applications for registration are being sent to the refinery by marketers and I think the process has been ongoing for some time now. It is a good thing for the country to have a refinery that refines its crude domestically,” the IPMAN official stated.
Another major marketer confirmed that the pricing template for refined products from the facility has not been released yet, but noted that there had been a series of meetings with the regulators on this.
Asked whether the pricing template for refined products had been released, the dealer, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation, replied, “No, not yet. We have not received any template yet, not to my knowledge.
“But it is possible that the template should be out soon because various meetings by officials of the refinery with dealers and regulators have been ongoing lately. The meetings are to give insights about activities at the plant. And I believe the template is going to be in naira.”
