The Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Limited has approved the release of 16.3 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.).
This development was contained in a letter signed by the Group Chief Commercial Officer of Dangote Refinery, Rabiu Umar, and addressed to the national oil company on Saturday.
The letter read thus, “This is to formally notify you of the release of Twelve Thousand, Two hundred Metric Tonnes (12,200 MT) of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from Tank No.3201D at Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, Lekki Free Trade Zone, Ibeju Lekki to Messrs. NNPC Trading Limited to be loaded via road trucks.”
At a conversion rate of 1341 litres to one metric tonne, the 12,200 metric tonnes expected to be released by Dangote Refinery would translate to about 16.3 million litres of petrol.
According to a report published by THE WHISTLER, the figure is 8.7 million litres short of the 25 million litres per day initially demanded by the NNPC Ltd.
However, the company announced yesterday that over 300 trucks were stationed at the refinery’s fuel loading gantry in preparation for the scheduled petrol loading today, Sunday, September 15, 2024.
The 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) Dangote Refinery is expected to end the perennial shortage of the products in Nigeria, as it was designed to meet 100% of the nation’s requirement of all refined products and also have a surplus of each of these products for export.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, announced on Friday that the PMS would be sold to NNPC Ltd. for now, and they would then sell to various marketers.
Meanwhile, the National President of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA), Chief Benneth Korie, recently advised that in order to ensure a balanced distribution, the Dangote’s refined products should be made available to a broader range of stakeholders, including NNPC Trading, NNPC Retail, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), and NOGASA.
This inclusivity, according to him, would facilitate sustainable and widespread distribution across the country.
He urged the Federal Government to expedite the commencement of the Port Harcourt refinery slated for September so as to alleviate the current shortages and ensure that the products are distributed among the same stakeholders.
