IPMAN Needs NNPC Approval To Lift Petrol – Dangote Refinery

IPMAN needs NNPC approval to lift petrol – Dangote Refinery, as it awaits NNPC’s go-ahead

In a statement on Thursday, Dangote Refinery revealed that it was yet to receive go-ahead from Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to supply Premium Motor Spirit, widely known as Petrol, to the members of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria.

This revelation was made on Thursday following persistent demand from IPMAN for Dangote Refinery to make public its price of petrol, citing that their silence on the issue is dragging longer than expected.

On Wednesday, a day before Dangote Refinery’s disclosure, IPMAN’s National President Abubakar Maigandi said the group’s members had visited the Dangote Refinery for nearly four different occasions but could not succeed in lifting the petroleum product.

This statement serves a Magandi’s response to comments made on Tuesday by the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Dangote, that the Refinery had over 500 million litre of petrol available but marketers are not patronising.

Magandi’s statement reads: “If the refinery truly has 500 million litre, then there should be no reason our members couldn’t load after four days. We’re willing to buy the product directly if the refinery is ready to sell to us, but for now, our members can’t access it even after paying.”

In attesting to the statement made the IPMAN’s President, Billy Gillis-Harry, the National President of PETROAN, seconded Magandi’s claim that PMS retailers had visited the Lekki-based refinery on occasion to load the product but no success.

“We have listened to him (Dangote) and as far as I’m concerned what he said is very strange to my hearing. PETROAN had written to him since 2022, we wanted to have a business meeting with him and understand the business dynamics but no way up till now,” Gillis-Harry said.

Howbeit on Thursday, Dangote Group Chief Branding and Communication Officer Anthony Chiejina stated Dangote Refinery did not receive any money from IPMAN, that the money was paid into NNPC account, the national oil body, which is yet to authorise Dangote to sell the petroleum product to IPMAN members.

Meanwhile, Dangote Refinery disclosed that it has never had any direct dealings with IPMAN, but said dialogues are being accelerated as regards that.

The statement which was titled, ‘IPMAN: Setting the Records Straight,’ reads: “The Dangote Petroleum Refinery wishes to clarify that it has not received any payments from the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria to purchase refined petroleum products.

“Although discussions are ongoing with IPMAN, it is misleading to suggest that they (IPMAN members) are experiencing difficulties loading refined products from our petroleum refinery, as we currently have no direct business dealings with them. Consequently, we cannot be held responsible for any payments made to other entities.

“The payment in mention has been made through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and not us. In the same vein, NNPCL has neither approved nor authorised us to release our Premium Motor Spirit to IPMAN.”

Additionally, Chiejina stressed that Dangote Refinery has the capacity to meet the nation’s fuel demand daily, by boasting of the ability to shun out 2,900 trucks daily.

“We would like to emphasise that we can meet the nation’s demand for all petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel. At present, we can load 2,900 trucks per day and we have also been evacuating petroleum products by sea.

“We advise IPMAN to register with us and make direct payment as we have more than enough petroleum products to satisfy the needs of their members,“ the company noted.

In the statement, stakeholders are advised to desist from misleading the general public through “unfounded statements.”

“Furthermore, we believe it is instructive for all stakeholders to refrain from making unfounded statements in the media, as that could undermine the economic reengineering efforts of President Bola Tinubu. Conducting business through public speculation is counterproductive and unpatriotic.

“In the interest of our country, we encourage all stakeholders to collaborate and heed the advice of President Tinubu, while promoting a unified approach, rather than engaging in media conflicts and needless propaganda,” the statement concluded.

On the other hand, the National Headquarters of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association has implored Dangote to announce the price of its PMS.

PETROAN said it could recall the speech made by Aliko Dangote that Dangute Refinery boasts of the capacity to meet the demands of the nation’s PMS need, adding that it can provide 500 million litre daily.

PETROAN on Thursday, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Dr. Joseph Obele, in response to comment made by Dangote that marketers should come and pick fuel, said that the call by Dangote to come pick fuel is not enough to initialise a purchase decision.

He said NNPC sells petrol at N1,040 per litre in Port Harcourt, adding that Aliko Dangote should have utilised his strength judiciously by announcing the price of its petrol rather than making false comment that the marketers are not patronising him.

“If he had announced a favourable or attractive selling rate at that press conference, such an announcement could have caused traffic at his facility by this hour. A businessman will abandon his previous buying source for a new location with the least discount granted by another seller,” Obele added.

Enough Available Products

On Thursday, Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria announced that there was enough petrol in store for local consumption, admonishing against panic buying.

The Chief Executive Officer of MEMAN Clement Isong said, “In light of several inquiries from the press regarding a perceived tightness in the petroleum supply market, MEMAN wishes to assure the general public and all stakeholders that we have significant stocks of products in our tanks and/or access to significant stocks of products in the tanks of our suppliers (including Dangote Refinery and NNPC Trading Limited), and a clear line of sight on future supplies for all petroleum products.”

This revelation was made in a statement, citing that the deregulation of the downstream oil sectors now paves ways for serious marketers who are ready make plans to book their supply before they run out of stock.

He noted that MEMAN is not expecting any shortage in and scarcity of the product in the immediate future.

Isong said: “We urge the public not to panic-buy petroleum products, as our supply efficiency continues to improve, and logistics optimisation begins to set in.”

Additionally on Thursday, another set of data by MEMAN revealed the landing cost of petroleum products:

• Petrol: N978.01 per litre
• Diesel: N1,069.97 per litre
• Aviation fuel: N1,119.67 per litre

IPMAN Needs NNPC Approval To Lift Petrol – Dangote Refinery