Dangote Refinery has denied claims made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regarding the price of petrol sold to the company. The refinery rejected NNPC’s assertion that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly referred to as petrol, was sold at N898 per litre during the recent lifting of fuel from the Dangote facility in Lagos.
Earlier, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer for NNPCL, had been quoted stating that the state-run oil company purchased petrol from Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre, refuting initial reports suggesting the sale occurred at N766 per litre. This statement, according to Dangote Refinery, is both “misleading and mischievous.”
In a formal clarification, Dangote Refinery stated: “Our attention has been drawn to a statement attributed to NNPCL spokesperson, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, that we sell our PMS at N898 per litre to the NNPCL. This statement is both misleading and mischievous, deliberately aimed at undermining the milestone achievement recorded today…towards addressing energy insufficiency and insecurity.”
The refinery urged Nigerians to disregard these claims and await official announcements from the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, which will take effect on October 1, 2024. The committee, appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is expected to provide detailed pricing structures based on domestic production and crude oil sales in Naira.
Dangote further emphasized that the refinery’s current stock of crude was procured in U.S. dollars, not Naira. The company highlighted that sales to the NNPCL were also transacted in dollars, offering significant cost savings compared to current petrol imports.
In an optimistic outlook, the statement reassured Nigerians that the refinery’s operations would ensure the availability of high-quality fuel across the country, even in remote areas, putting an end to chronic fuel shortages that have plagued the nation for decades.
Today’s developments follow previous reports by The New Daily Prime, which speculated that Dangote Refinery could sell petrol to NNPC at N766 per litre—an expectation now further muddled by contradictory public statements.
As the nation anticipates the official pricing announcement, all eyes remain on Dangote Refinery’s potential to reshape Nigeria’s energy landscape and stabilize fuel supply.
