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RAYMOND OSHO
Dangote Refinery has dismissed claims by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association (PETROAN) that they can import Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at lower prices, alleging that such imports would be substandard and harmful to Nigerians.
In a statement, Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Dangote Refinery, accused IPMAN and PETROAN of spreading misinformation to undermine the country’s efforts to promote domestic refining and job creation.
“Dangote Refinery benchmarks its prices against international prices, ensuring competitiveness. If anyone claims to import PMS cheaper, they’re importing substandard products, endangering Nigerians’ health and vehicles,” Chiejina said.
He revealed that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) lacks laboratory facilities to detect substandard imports, leaving the country vulnerable to harmful products.
Chiejina emphasized that Dangote Refinery’s pricing is aligned with NNPC’s post-deregulation benchmarks, selling PMS at N960 per litre for ships and N990 per litre for trucks.
The company warned that an international trading company is planning to blend substandard products near the Dangote Refinery, threatening Nigeria’s domestic refining growth.
“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.
“Dangote Refinery urges Nigerians to disregard misinformation and support domestic industries, creating jobs and driving economic growth,” Chiejina concluded.
