Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has mobilised 300 trucks to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, in preparation for the loading of petrol scheduled for today Sunday.
As of Saturday afternoon, NNPC confirmed that more trucks are en route to the refinery, which is expected to produce 25 million litres of petrol daily in September, increasing to 30 million litres in October.
The NNPC Ltd in a post on its X handle on Saturday said it had deployed over 100 trucks as of Saturday afternoon.
“In preparation for the Dangote Refinery’s scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, 15 September 2024, NNPC Ltd has been mobilising trucks to the refinery’s fuel loading gantry in Ibeju-Lekki. As of Saturday afternoon, NNPC Ltd had deployed over 100 trucks, with hundreds more en route,” the state-owned oil company said.
Also, the chief corporate communications officer of the company Olufemi Soneye, confirmed the development in a post on his X handle Saturday evening.
Soneye said by the end of Saturday, at least 300 trucks will be stationed at the refinery’s fuel loading gantry.
“NNPC Ltd trucks are arriving at the Dangote Refinery in preparation for the scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, 15 September 2024. By the end of today, at least 300 trucks will be stationed at the refinery’s fuel loading gantry,” Soneye said.
This deployment follows a recent agreement designating NNPC as the sole distributor of petrol from the refinery, amid previous confusion regarding off-take arrangements. While oil marketers can directly purchase diesel from the facility, petrol distribution will be managed exclusively by NNPC, which aims to provide competitive pricing in the Nigerian market.
The Dangote Refinery, a $20 billion investment, began petrol production on September 3, and the upcoming loading marks a significant step in stabilising fuel supply in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Petroleum marketers said they have lifted 518,500 metric tons of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Jet A1 from Dangote Refinery (DR), representing 60 per cent of national Truck-out in five months, investigations have shown.
This is contrary to comments credited to Dangote Refinery indicating that local Petroleum Marketers were yet to patronise its Refinery.
Documents sourced from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showed that Independent local marketers, including Asharami, MRS Oil and Gas, AA Rano, Rainoil, Prudent, NIPCO, Aym Shafa and Danmarna, among many others, have patronised Dangote Refinery over the past months, a development the marketers say reinforces their commitment to ensuring seamless access to petroleum products across the nation.
Further analysis of the transactions which occurred between April and September showed marketers lifted 489,500 MT of AGO and 29, 000 MT of Jet A1 distributed across various Nigerian ports, with 17 AGO shipments to Lagos, 6 to Warri, 2 to Port Harcourt, and 1 to Calabar. All three Jet A1 shipments were discharged in Lagos.
The marketers, however, said the lack of clarity surrounding the availability of Dangote Refinery’s Premium Motor Spirit (also known as petrol), remained a stumbling block to patronage within the local market.
According to executive secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Olufemi Adewole, the sector needs to operate transparently in a manner that gives all stakeholders the opportunity to thrive and contribute significantly to the quest of ensuring ‘availability, reliability and accessibility of petroleum products nation-wide.’
Adewole said the alleged boycott of Dangote Refinery’s PMS was incorrect as petroleum marketers were still awaiting clearance from the government on the modalities regarding the offtake of PMS from the refinery.
“DAPPMAN as evidenced by patronage of various products from the Dangote Refinery by its members believes firmly in meeting Nigeria’s energy needs ,and remains aligned to calls for the nation not to end up in a monopoly, which will only jeopardise our economic growth and development,” he said.
Adewole noted that DAPPMAN and other marketers had consistently stated that the trading of petroleum products globally rests on the critical issues of price and quality. “Offtake will, in keeping with the laws of demand and supply, gravitate towards sources where products can be bought at a lower price, better quality and seamless accessibility,” he stated.
He reassured Nigerians that DAPPMAN would continue to work assiduously towards giving the nation top-notch fuel solutions, whilst securing the sustainability of the sector.
