The Dangote Refinery clarified on Thursday that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has not yet started lifting refined petrol from the refinery.
This clarification was made by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Refinery, Anthony Chiejina, in a statement issued on Thursday.
The announcement was in response to a report claiming that NNPC had lifted petrol from the Dangote Refinery and sold it at N897 per litre.
Earlier in the week, Devakumar Edwin, the vice president of Dangote Industries Limited, announced that the refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, had begun processing petrol. He noted that NNPC Ltd, as Nigeria’s sole importer, would be the exclusive purchaser of the product.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, mentioned that petrol refined at the facility would be available at filling stations nationwide within 48 hours, depending on NNPC Ltd’s readiness to lift it.
On the same day, NNPC Ltd adjusted the pump price of petrol to N897 per litre, up from N617, causing frustration and confusion among motorists and commuters.
However, in its Thursday statement, the Dangote Refinery emphasized that NNPC has not yet started collecting petrol from the facility.
“Our attention has been drawn to the headline, ‘NNPC lifts Dangote Petrol, sells at N897 per litre.’ We would like to clarify that NNPC has not begun lifting refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery,” Chiejina stated.
He further explained that because the market for petrol is heavily regulated, all stakeholders in the sector, including oil marketers, are aware that Dangote Refinery cannot set or influence product prices, which are controlled by relevant government authorities.
“We urge the public to dismiss this misleading report, as it does not reflect the current situation. We assure Nigerians that our petroleum products will be of the highest quality and will be available nationwide,” Chiejina added.
