Dangote Refinery Denies NNPCL’s Claim of N898 per Litre Petrol Price, Says Sales Were in Dollars

The Dangote Refinery has countered claims by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that it sold Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to the oil company at a price of N898 per litre. In a statement issued on Sunday, Dangote confirmed that its transactions with NNPCL were conducted in dollars, not naira.

Anthony Chiejina, the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote, addressed the claims made by the NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, who had earlier stated that the company purchased fuel from the Dangote Refinery at N898 per litre. Chiejina called the statement “misleading and mischievous,” accusing NNPCL of attempting to undermine a significant achievement in Nigeria’s energy sector.

“Our attention has been drawn to a statement attributed to NNPCL spokesperson, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, that we sell our PMS at N898 per litre to NNPCL. This statement is both misleading and mischievous, deliberately aimed at undermining the milestone achievement recorded today, September 15, 2024, towards addressing energy insufficiency and insecurity, which has bedeviled the economy in the past 50 years,” Chiejina said in the statement.

He urged Nigerians to disregard NNPCL’s claim and instead await the formal pricing announcement, which will be made by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries. The sub-committee, appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is expected to make its official announcement on October 1, 2024.

Chiejina emphasized that the refinery had sold its products to NNPCL in dollars, resulting in significant cost savings compared to what NNPCL currently spends on imported fuel. He noted that this transaction would help ensure the availability of petrol across Nigeria, including in remote areas.

“It should also be noted that we sold the products to NNPCL in dollars with a lot of savings against what they are currently importing. With this action, there will be petrol in every local government area of the country, regardless of their remote nature,” the statement read.

NNPCL’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, had previously claimed in an interview with *Daily Trust* that the company successfully loaded PMS from the Dangote Refinery at a price of N898 per litre. According to him, over 70 trucks had been loaded by the time of the report, following the arrival of around 300 trucks at the refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.

Despite NNPCL’s claims, Dangote assured Nigerians that it remains committed to addressing the country’s fuel scarcity and providing quality petroleum products. The refinery expressed optimism that the recent developments would mark an end to the long-standing fuel shortages that have plagued the nation for decades.

“We assure Nigerians of the availability of quality petroleum products and putting an end to the endemic fuel scarcity in the country,” Dangote Refinery said.

As the debate over petrol pricing continues, all eyes are on the upcoming announcement from the government-appointed sub-committee, which will play a key role in determining the future pricing and distribution of fuel across Nigeria.