Oil marketers have expressed concerns that the high price of petrol from the Dangote Refinery, as released by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), could justify the continued importation of petrol into Nigeria. NNPC announced that petrol from Dangote could cost up to N1,019/litre in northern states like Borno, while the lowest price would be N950/litre in Lagos. Some marketers believe that these high prices will encourage competition from imported fuel, with prices potentially rising to N1,200/litre in some areas.
Marketers are also calling for more transparency in the allocation and pricing of petrol from the Dangote Refinery. The Organised Private Sector criticized NNPC’s role as the sole off-taker of petrol from the $20bn refinery, warning that this could stifle competition. Vessels of imported petrol are expected to arrive in Nigeria soon to meet the demand not fully covered by the Dangote refinery.
NNPC explained that it is paying Dangote in US dollars for the current petrol supply, with naira transactions to begin in October. This comes after a disagreement between NNPC and Dangote over the pricing of petrol, with Dangote disputing the NNPC’s earlier announced price of N898/litre.
