Any Imported Petrol Cheaper Than Our Product Is Substandard, Says Dangote Refinery
Dangote Refinery has asserted that any claims of being able to import Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at a lower price than its current offering must involve “importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low quality products into the country.”
This comes in response to recent allegations from the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PETROAN).
In a statement signed by Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer on Sunday, Dangote Refinery said, “We had lately refrained from engaging in media fights, but we are constrained to respond to the recent misinformation being circulated.”
The refinery management emphasised its commitment to competitive pricing, noting, “We benchmark our prices against international prices, and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports.”
The statement highlighted its current price structure, revealing that it sells PMS at N960 per litre for ships and N990 per litre for trucks, which is lower than the N971 per litre set by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited for domestic marketers.
“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,” they added.
Furthermore, Dangote raised concerns over an international trading company that has reportedly secured a depot near their refinery to blend substandard products.
It described this as “detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria” and highlighted the necessity of protecting local industries.
“It is not unusual for countries to protect their domestic industries in order to provide jobs and grow the economy,” it noted, referencing similar practices in the US and Europe.
The statement reads, “We had lately refrained from engaging in media fights, but we are constrained to respond to the recent misinformation being circulated by IPMAN, PETROAN, and other associations.
“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.
“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low quality products into the country, without concern for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles. Unfortunately, the regulator (NMDPRA) does not even have laboratory facilities which can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.
“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.”
