Dangote Petroleum Refinery has issued a statement addressing concerns raised by oil marketers regarding its petrol pricing.
Gatekeepers News reports that the refinery argues that any oil marketer offering petrol at a lower price than its own is likely selling substandard products.
This response comes in light of claims from the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), which stated on November 1 that the cost of petrol from the Dangote refinery is higher than that from imported sources.
Yakubu Suleiman, the National Assistant Secretary of IPMAN, noted during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show that their members often seek cheaper alternatives at various depots across Nigeria due to the higher logistical costs associated with sourcing petrol from Dangote.
In light of these claims, some oil marketers have indicated plans to import petrol and sell it at prices lower than those set by the Dangote refinery as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
In its rebuttal, the Dangote refinery clarified its ex-depot prices for petrol, stating they are set at N990 per litre for trucks and N960 per litre for ships. The refinery emphasised that these prices are based on international benchmarks and reflect the costs set by the NNPC for local marketers.
“We had lately refrained from engaging in media fights but we are constrained to respond to the recent misinformation being circulated by IPMAN, PETROAN, and other associations,” the statement reads.
“Both organisations claim that they can import PMS at lower prices than what is being sold by the Dangote Refinery. We benchmark our prices against international prices and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports.
“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low quality products into the country, without concern for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles.
“Unfortunately, the regulator (NMDPRA) does not even have laboratory facilities which can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.”
The refinery also alleged that an international trading company is planning to blend substandard products close to its plant.
“…an international trading company has recently hired a depot facility next to the Dangote Refinery, with the objective of using it to blend substandard products that will be dumped into the market to compete with Dangote Refinery’s higher quality production,” the company said.
“This is detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria. We should point out that it is not unusual for countries to protect their domestic industries in order to provide jobs and grow the economy.
“For example, the US and Europe have had to impose high tariffs on EVs and microchips in order to protect their domestic industries.”
The company said it is committed to providing affordable, good-quality, domestically refined petroleum products for Nigerians.
The refinery called on the public to ignore “deliberate disinformation being spread by those who favour Nigeria continuing to export jobs and import poverty”.
