The Dangote Refinery has announced a price reduction for petrol, now available at N960 per litre for shipments via ships and N990 per litre for truck deliveries.
The company’s Spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina made this disclosure in a statement on Sunday, following tensions with fuel marketers who claim that imported petrol is priced lower than the refinery’s output.
In response to the claims, Chiejina explained that the Dangote Refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, adjusted its pricing following the deregulation implemented by the national oil company, NNPC.
He pointed out that while NNPC prices petrol at N971 for ship sales and N990 for truck sales, Dangote has chosen to price its ship sales at N960 while maintaining the truck rate at N990.
“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.
“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.
“Post deregulation, NNPC set the pace by selling PMS to domestic marketers at N971 per litre for sale into ships and at N990 for sale into trucks. This set the benchmark for our pricing, and we have even gone lower to sell at N960 per litre for sale into ships while maintaining N990 per litre for sale into trucks.
“In good faith, and in the interest of the country, we commenced sales at these prices without clarity on the exchange rate that we will use to pay for the crude purchased,” the statement read in part.
Chiejina further stated that Dangote’s pricing aligns with international benchmarks, warning that any imported petrol sold at lower rates may be substandard.
He highlighted that the NMDPRA currently lacks the laboratory facilities needed to test the quality of imported fuel.
The Dangote spokesperson criticized those selling substandard petrol for their disregard for the well-being of consumers’ vehicles and machinery, asserting that they do not prioritize the public’s interests.
He also emphasized that it is reasonable for the federal government to protect local industries, as many countries do.
““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 that can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.
“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,” he stated.
