Marketers seek direct access to Dangote petrol, condemn NNPC’s monopoly

The Dangote refinery has begun supplying petrol to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at a price of N766 per litre, sparking demands from marketers for direct access to the product.

The development has raised concerns about the potential for a new domestic monopoly in the sector.

“The market should be liberalized and open to all, in line with the willing-buyer and willing-seller arrangement,” said Chinedu Ukadike, National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).

Marketers are pushing for a liberalized market that would allow them to purchase petrol directly from the refinery, rather than relying on the NNPC as the sole buyer. “We are looking at how to build our logistics and come up with our price,” Ukadike added.

The controversy has also raised questions about the pricing template for the petrol, with marketers expressing concerns about the lack of transparency in the pricing mechanism.

“Right now, we don’t know what the price might be. Nobody has informed us about anything; we are not aware of what the government is doing,” said Billy Gillis-Harry, National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Association of Nigeria.

NNPC trucks queuing to lift PMS from the Dangote Refinery, much to the chagrin of marketers

There are warnings that the creation of a new domestic monopoly in the oil and gas sector could have dangerous consequences for the industry.

“We don’t know any of the pricing templates yet or the matrix that will bring about the pricing template. We have been asking Dangote or anybody that is in charge of this transaction to be transparent, but somehow, we have not got any of that information,” Gillis-Harry added.

The Dangote refinery is set to commence the distribution of petrol to marketers, but marketers are concerned about the potential for the price to be increased as it passes through the supply chain.

“Independent marketers have not been given any offer by Dangote to ascertain the actual off-take price. So, for now, independent marketers will be taking the product from NNPC, but hopefully, in the next few weeks, we may start getting it directly from Dangote,” said Mustapha Zarma, National Operations Controller of IPMAN.

Marketers are calling for greater transparency in the pricing mechanism and a liberalized market that would allow them to purchase petrol directly from the refinery. “If we can get the product at N766, we will need to add the cost of transportation, levies, and other margins. Give and take, we can sell at N790 in Lagos. In the far north, it may be N820 per litre because of the distance,” said a senior IPMAN official.

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