Marketers of petroleum products are in talks with the management of the Dangote refinery about the possibility of lifting premium motor spirit (petrol) directly from the refinery, and boycotting the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), serving as a middleman.
This is against the backdrop of scarcity and high cost of petrol across Nigeria. Many filling stations in major cities have not had petrol for over two months, while those that have are selling between N900 and N1,200.
About a week ago, NNPCL lifted petrol from the Dangote refinery after weeks of disagreement. The national oil company claimed that it lifted 16.8 million litres of petrol from the plant at the rate of N898/litre.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said on Saturday that most filling stations were yet to receive a supply of Dangote petrol from the NNPCL.
Meanwhile, the marketers have renewed efforts to transact directly with the Dangote refinery and break the monopoly of the national oil company.
The Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, while speaking with Pressmen on Monday, expressed optimism that the marketers would reach an agreement with Dangote soon.
Ukadike disclosed that a meeting had been scheduled this week between representatives of the association and the management of the refinery.
He said: There is a meeting scheduled for this week between Dangote and IPMAN. We are happy that Dangote has set on a new course in terms of looking to other stakeholders to distribute its products.
It is now distributing to major marketers and we are hopeful that with time it will start distributing to independent marketers.
For the refinery to also start distributing through the coastal areas with vessels is a good move. This will remove the ghost scarcity that has persisted for a long time. Once it takes off effectively, ghost scarcity will be gone.
He expressed concern about pricing, but stressed that “supply will determine price”.
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