The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has sought a reduction in the price of petrol across the country.
The group urged the Dangote refinery to consider reducing its ex-depot price from N970 per litre since the estimated cost of landing petrol on Nigeria’s shores has dropped to N900.28 per litre.
President Bola Tinubu had during a Federal Executive Council meeting on July 29 proposed the sale of crude to local refineries in naira.
The FEC adopted the proposal by Tinubu to sell crude to Dangote and other refineries in the local currency.
FEC approved that the 450,000 barrels meant for domestic consumption be offered in naira to Nigerian refineries, using the Dangote refinery as a pilot.
It also approved an initial six-month trial period pending further review by the Technical Sub-Committee on Domestic Sales of Crude Oil in Local Currency.
“From October 1, NNPC will commence the supply of about 385,000 barrels per day of crude oil to the Dangote refinery to be paid for in naira,” the committee had declared.
This implies that NNPC is to supply about 11.5m barrels of crude oil to the Dangote refinery monthly and an equivalent of over 23m barrels in two months.
However, sources who were informed about the local crude sale deal told our correspondents on Saturday that the deal was still ongoing despite little information about the volume of crude traded within the period.
A source said, “There is no information to the contrary, which means the deal is still on. If it had been suspended or ended, you would have seen a statement from the parties involved or the committee in charge announcing that the deal was no longer working. It means if there is no statement, the deal is still ongoing.”
Efforts to reach the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Dangote Refinery on the amount traded between parties proved abortive as the NNPCL spokesperson, Femi Soneye, did not respond to enquiries.
In October, it was reported that four cargoes of crude oil were delivered to the refinery.
Sources told our correspondent that the refinery was still waiting to receive more crude oil cargo.
But in an interview a month later, the Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, said the amount of crude received from the national oil firm was “peanuts” compared to the volume needed to ramp the production of refined products.
He said NNPCL had yet to meet its target to deliver a minimum of 385,000 bpd since the commencement of the programme in October.
“We need 650,000 barrels per day. NNPCL agreed to give a minimum of 385,000 bpd, but they are not even delivering that,” the official informed Reuters.
Meanwhile, the 650,000-barrel refinery has resorted to crude oil imports to ramp up its production capacity and commence export to West African countries.
This development was confirmed by the IPMAN National Publicity Officer, Chinedu Ukadike, who also called on the refinery to consider reducing prices to foster healthy competition within the sector.
Ukadike, speaking in an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Saturday, acknowledged that the 650,000-barrel facility would set its price based on production costs, although the foreign exchange rate remains a significant factor in determining its ex-depot price.
He said, “The cost of production is peculiar to any refinery, and for Dangote analysis, I think the refinery would have to be further reviewed because you would also remember that in one month, the facility has reviewed its processes twice. It dropped the price from N990 to N980 and then reduced it further to N970.