NNPCL insists paying N898/litre to buy petrol at Dangote Refinery
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has insisted that it bought petrol or Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at N898 per litre from the Dangote Refinery.
The report obtained by WESTERN POST revealed that NNPCL as of September 13, 2024 bought petrol at $690/MT and $0.52/litre, which is an equivalent of N842.61 per litre.
The premium price at $46/MT and $0.03/litre. When converted to Naira, it becomes N56.17/litre.
According to NNPCL report, the Dangote Refinery PMS gentry pricing stood at $736/MT and $0.55/litre, an estimated N898/78/litre. Including Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) fee of N8.99, inspection price at N0.97/litre, Distribution cost at N15/litre and margin of N26.48/litre, it brings the estimated pump price of petrol in Lagos at N950.22/litre.
Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye in a statement stated this while responding to a statement from the refinery.
Group Chief Branding and Communications Office of Dangote, Anthony Chiejina had refuted the earlier claim of NNPCL that it bought fuel from Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre.
Soneye had said, “We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today. The claim that we purchased it at N760 per liter is incorrect. For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per liter.”
The oil firm had moved about 300 trucks to the 650,000capacity refinery in Lagos, on Saturday, and loading commenced on Sunday.
But in its statement, Dangote Refinery accused NNPCL of misleading the public, asking Nigerians to await a formal announcement on the pricing, by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, appointed by President Bola Tinubu.
In a move suspected of further countering NNPCL’s narrative, Dangote Refinery added that the oil firm paid in dollars.
However, in its response, NNPCL admitted paying in dollars but emphasised that the naira sale would commence on October 1, 2024.
The NNPCL also dismissed the claim of Dangote Refinery that the Sub-Technical Committee appointed by the president would announce PMS price at the refinery.
“The NNPC Ltd has released estimated prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as Petrol (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) in its retail stations across the country.”
“The NNPC Ltd also wishes to state that, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), PMS prices are not set by Government, but negotiated directly between parties on an arms length.
“The NNPC Ltd can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1st, 2024.
“The NNPC Ltd assures that if the quoted pricing is disputed, it will be grateful for any discount from the Dangote Refinery, which will be passed on 100% to the general public.”
The oil firm subsequently gave a breakdown of its acquisition of from the refinery, attaching the estimated pump prices of PMS across NNPC Retail Stations in the country, “based on September 2024 pricing”.
