Imported Petrol Costlier Than Local Supply, IPMAN Warns

…Urges NMDPRA to review import licences

Imported petrol is proving more expensive than domestically refined fuel, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) warned on Sunday, urging the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to urgently review recently issued import licences.

IPMAN’s national publicity secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, said this while reacting to the current state of the downstream petroleum sector in Nigeria

Ukadike said the licences have allowed some importers to sell at roughly N1,350 per litre — rates well above supplies from Dangote Refinery — a development he said is driving fuel price volatility, deepening pump-price inflation and placing unnecessary strain on the naira and Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves.

He called on the federal government and the NMDPRA to transparently reassess the licence regime, prioritise support for local refineries (including Dangote and government-owned plants), and convene the presidential downstream committee to prevent imported supplies of questionable quality and higher cost from undermining recent gains in uninterrupted domestic fuel availability.

Ukadike said independent marketers have studied the situation closely, including price volatility, the import licence regime, and the sale of petroleum products in dollars.

He urged the federal government to look into the matter transparently through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which he described as the authority regulating the industry.

Ukadike said independent marketers had studied the situation closely, including price volatility, the import licence regime, and the sale of petroleum products in dollars. He urged the Federal Government to look into the matter transparently through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which he described as the authority regulating the industry.

According to him, the recent import licences, which were meant to serve as a check on domestically refined petroleum products, are not achieving the results expected by independent marketers.

He said marketers were shocked that some of the companies granted import licences were pegging their prices at around N1,350 per litre, a figure he said was far higher than what the Dangote Refinery sells to marketers.

Ukadike questioned the rationale behind the licences, noting that if the goal of the NMDPRA and the federal government was to checkmate the domestic price of petroleum products, then bringing in imported products of questionable quality and higher prices defeated that purpose.

“What is the essence of issuing this price? This will create a lot of tension in society,” he said, adding that the price volatility was deepening and directly affecting independent marketers, who now do not know which way to turn.

He further explained that landing costs for imported petroleum products were about 20 per cent higher than what Dangote refinery charges, which, in his view, makes the import arrangement counterproductive. He argued that importing fuel at a higher cost than what is locally available puts unnecessary pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves and the naira.

Ukadike linked this pressure to the recent rise of the dollar to about N1,400, which he said was, in turn, affecting the pump price of petroleum products across the country.

He called on the federal government to sit down with the presidential committee on the downstream sector to look into the challenges facing Dangote Refinery and to ensure the refinery continues to receive support to produce enough petroleum products for the country, in naira.

He noted that the one major gain Nigeria has recorded from local refining is a continuous and uninterrupted supply of petroleum products, something the country struggled with in the past when it depended heavily on imports.

“If we are having continuous and uninterrupted supply, our problem is pricing. Is it not better we sit down and see how this issue can be controlled, than signing unnecessary import licences that will further inflate the price of petroleum products in our country?” he asked.

Ukadike called for stronger support for local refining capacity, including government-owned refineries, alongside Dangote Refinery, describing this as necessary for the country’s energy security. He said Nigeria should prioritise its own refining capacity rather than depending on imports.

“Nigerians are suffering. This is a time to call for national unity, a time to call for one Nigeria, a time to call for support for our industrialists and our refiners,” he said.

He added that Nigeria could also explore the export of finished petroleum products as an additional source of foreign exchange, once local supply is sufficient for domestic consumption.

Ukadike recalled the difficulties of the era when Nigeria depended solely on imported petroleum products, noting that the country sometimes experienced fuel scarcity for two to three weeks at a stretch. He said that since local refining by Dangote began, such scarcity has become a thing of the past.

He therefore urged the federal government to look inward and support the domestic refining of petroleum products, in order to guarantee energy security, sufficient local supply, and additional foreign exchange earnings for the country through exports.