Several major petroleum marketers, including 11Plc, Total Energies, and AA Rano, have started lifting petrol produced by the Dangote Refinery through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Trading Limited at N765.99 per litre.
This follows the completion of payment on NNPC’s trading portal, marking the commencement of petrol distribution to retail outlets across Nigeria under the existing agreement between the refinery and NNPC.
Tunji Oyebanji, managing director of 11Plc, confirmed that his company was among the first to complete payments and begin lifting products from the Dangote Refinery via NNPC. He clarified that 11Plc, like other marketers, has no direct arrangement with the Dangote Refinery, as NNPC remains the sole off-taker of the refinery’s petrol.
BusinessDay’s findings indicate that several petroleum marketers, including NNPC Retail, Total Energies, AA Rano, and others, have commenced lifting petrol from the refinery under this arrangement.
However, efforts to verify if members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have also begun lifting products from the refinery were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
Adedapo Segun, NNPC’s executive vice-president for downstream operations, explained that marketers cannot buy petrol directly from the Dangote Refinery as the product is still sold at a subsidized rate through NNPC.
He further noted that the market value of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) remains higher than what NNPC is currently selling, at N765.99 per litre.
Segun also emphasized that NNPC’s role as the sole off-taker is necessary because marketers would not buy the product at Dangote’s market price, which is expected to be higher.
He indicated that as soon as market conditions align with Dangote’s pricing, marketers will be able to purchase products directly from the refinery.