By Lateef Adegbite
Barely three months after Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Refinery, a subsidiary of Dangote Industries, and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, now baptized, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, signed into Law by former President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2020, the two parties are heading for a another showdown over pricing of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, Petrol.
Dangote, a Multi-billionaire business mogul and President, Dangote Industries, may have hastened to facilitate the completion of the North American country of the United States, US, twenty billion dollars, Dangote refinery, with a processing capacity of 650,00b/d, which is much higher than the combined processing capacity of PortHarcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, with a combined processing capacity of 445,000 b/d, operated and maintained by the national oil Company.
The Kano state born multi-billionaire business man, may have sparked off the initial war of words when he had accused some officials of NNPCL, and the oil traders of having blending plants in Malta Island, located in Central Mediterranean Sea and southern Europe, from where they import substandard petroleum products into the country.
Dangote, may have shocked Nigerians when he revealed that the oil octopus which has the backing of Gbenga Akomolafe, Chairman, Nigerian Upstream Production Regulatory Authority, NUPRA and Farouk Ahmed led Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Production Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, may have continued importation petrol of petrol into the country, which critics had said was aimed at frustrating the multi-billion dollars Dangote refinery located at the Lekki Free Trade one, LFTZ, in Lagos, the Nation’ Commercial nerve centre.
The war of words between Dangote and the oil cabals, became so pronounced that Mele Kolo Kyari, Group Managing Director of NNPCL, was forced to speak out that he does not operate any business directly or by proxy anywhere in the world with the exception of a local mini Agric venture.
He was said to have even said that he was not aware of any employee of the NNPCL, who has an oil blending plant at Malta Island but Ahmed, Director General, NDDPRA, ma have matters worse when he declared that ‘’Nigeria will continue to import petrol into the country as he was not too sure that the Dangote refinery would be able to meet the petrol demand of the country.
The NMDPRA, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, remarks, may have drawn the attention of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had sounded it loud and clear that ‘’ some government and non-government officials were making efforts to frustrate the Dangote, US $20 billion refinery.
The former Nigerian President had cried out that that the International Oil Companies, and NNPCL, were frustrating the Dangote refinery by refusing to sell crude oil to the company and even when they had agreed to do so, the IOCs, particular, were selling to the refinery at a premium up to $4 above the price in the International oil market.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was an ex- governor of Lagos, and determined to see the Dangote’s US $20 billion refinery start production of petrol, Automotive Gas Oil, popular, diesel and Dual Purpose Kerosene, DPK, as away to encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in the country and the Federal Executive Council, FEC, were said to have stepped in to save the Dangote refinery from being frustrated at its embryonic stage.
The Nigerian President and the FEC, members, who were not ready to take the excuses of the IOCs and NNPCL, not to sell Crude Oil to the Dangote refinery, were said to have given a matching order to the Kyari led NNPCL, to sell crude oil to the company and other local refineries coming up in the country inn aira and not the US, dollars. This may have informed why the oil octopus had agreed to be supplying the refinery 385,000 b/d of crude to the refinery while it sources the remaining quantity from both within and outside the country.
Enough on the issue of crude oil. We turn to pricing, which appears to be pitching the two parties against each other. NPPCL, had made Nigerians to understand that it currently gets its supply of petrol from Dangote refinery at N898.00 per litre but sells at different prices, depending on the location.
The Independent Petroeum Marketers Associaton of Nigeria, IPMAN, had wondered why NNPCL, SHOULD SELL PETROL IN Dangote refinery higher than imported ones. John Kekeocha, IPMAN, National Welfare Officer, who could not hide his feelings had said that ‘’if NNPCL, could sell Dangote produced petrol and other petroleum products higher than the imported products then , ‘’it doesn’t make sense , insisting that there was no basis or celebration. Per litre
Note that before the company started loading petrol from Dangote refinery on Sunday, September 15, 2024, NNPCL, retail outlets in Lagos, sell imported petrol for around N855.00 but now selling locally produced petrol at N950.00 per litre and higher in other states of the Federation, blaming it on logistics , Regulatory and inspection costs.
Officials of Dangote refinery may have seen as a blackmail and to turn the heart of Nigerians against the refinery, which many had described as a welcome development, given the poor state of the existing refineries in the country. Many believe that the imported petrol, ought to be costlier because of the shipping, insurance and port charges expenses but the reverse is the case.
Anthony Ihiejina, the Dangote’s refinery spokesperson , who may have spoken the mind of Dangote, the Company’s Chairman, had described late on Sunday, September, 15, 2024, that the claims by NNPCL, of loading petrol from the refinery at N898.00 per litre was ‘’ misleading and mischievous’’ aimed at ‘’undermining the milestone that had been recorded in the country , towards addressing energy sufficiency and insecurity, which had bedeviled the country in the past 50 years’’.
Appealing to Nigerians to disregard the NNPCL, claims, and wait a formal announcement on the refinery petrol pricing by the Technical Committee set up by the Lagos state born Nigerian President on naira –based crude oil sales to local refineries, which will commence on October 1, 2024, which will concide with Niger’s 64th Independence anniversary.
The Dangote refinery spokesperson was said to have made Nigerians to understand the company may have supplied the product to NNPCL, based on the prevailing market rate because the current stock of crude used for processing the products , including petrol was procured from NNPCL and other foreign suppliers in US, dollars.
He may have shocked Nigerians when he disclosed that the company sold its products to NNPCL, in US, dollars but below the international market rate, meaning that lot of savings have been made by the nation oil company, against what they are currently importing.
The Dangote refinery Image maker had said that the company had taken the bold initiative to ensure that ‘’there will be patrol in all nooks and crannies of the country including the riverine Communities, in Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Cross river and Akwa Ibom states including the riverine Communities of Ondo state.
