Despite the recent commencement of petrol loading from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), most independent filling stations across Nigeria have yet to receive the product. The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), which accounts for over 70 percent of the country’s filling stations, revealed that their members have not been supplied petrol from the refinery.
When asked whether dealers had begun receiving petrol from the $20 billion refinery, IPMAN National President, Abubakar Maigandi, responded, “We are waiting to start.”
NNPC initiated petrol loading from the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote refinery last week, releasing over 16.8 million litres, a figure slightly below the 25 million litres the refinery initially projected. NNPC spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, confirmed the dispatch of over 70 trucks of petrol on the refinery’s first day of domestic supply.
While NNPC has allowed major marketers to lift petrol based on their agreements, independent marketers remain excluded from accessing Dangote petrol. IPMAN’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Ukadike Chinede, confirmed that the association’s members are still reliant on imported petrol from NNPC.
“No, we have not started getting Dangote fuel from NNPC. As of this time, we haven’t,” Ukadike stated. He added, “I think what they (NNPC) did was to take Dangote fuel to their own retail outlets because there was no design for NNPC to give IPMAN products via trucks.”
IPMAN has expressed readiness to purchase the product and is waiting for NNPC to release it to independent marketers. Ukadike explained that IPMAN members typically use their own trucks to transport petrol and that they are awaiting directives to pick up petrol from Dangote.
As for the high cost of Dangote petrol, Ukadike mentioned that NNPC is selling the product at N776 per litre to major marketers, but independent marketers have yet to be included in the distribution. He added that factors such as logistics and diesel prices are influencing the current cost, though prices are expected to decline with adequate petrol supply.
In contrast, major oil marketing firms have begun lifting petrol from the Dangote refinery based on their agreements with NNPC, with purchases reportedly being made at N766 per litre. However, discrepancies in the reported price between NNPC and Dangote refinery persist. While NNPC claimed to have purchased petrol from Dangote at N898 per litre, the refinery’s spokesperson refuted this, calling the figure “misleading and mischievous.”
For now, independent marketers continue to await their share of the Dangote petrol, while NNPC and Dangote work through the pricing and supply issues.
