Our refinery has over N600bn PMS in stock, enough to meet local needs, says Dangote
President of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote, revealed at the weekend that his company, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, has over N600 billion worth of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol in storage, to sufficiently and conveniently meet the local needs of Nigeria.
The position of Africa’s richest person, counters that of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) last week, that only 50 per cent can be sourced locally from local petroleum refining facilities.
The Authority maintained that it had continued to grant import licences to oil marketers to ensure that there’s no nationwide fuel scarcity, a position that Dangote has always maintained is not correct. Dangote is currently in court to compel the industry regulator to halt granting of incessant licences for fuel import.
This is just as the Zambian government has said that it is seeking Dangote’s investment in the country’s energy sector.
Speaking over the weekend during a tour of the refinery complex by a Zambia Government delegation, led by the country’s Minister of Energy, Mr. Makozo Chikote, Dangote disclosed the oil refinery has more than half a billion litres of petroleum and over N600 billion worth of products in its tanks.
He said: “As we speak right now, we have more than half a billion litres. The refinery is producing enough refined products, like gasoline (petrol), diesel, and kerosene, to meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s requirements.”
He noted that the refinery project, like other projects in the past, is not for Nigeria alone. Nigeria currently consumes an average of 50 million litres of petrol, according to data from the NMDPRA.
“This refinery is not only for Nigeria; it is for Africa. We must sustain the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) deal. We are trying to see how we trade with other African countries,” Dangote revealed.
