We Are Exporting Our Diesel, Jet Fuel As Local Marketers Refuse To Patronise Us – Dangote

The management of the Dangote Refinery has said that it has been exporting diesel and jet fuel produced by the refinery as many local marketers have refused to patronise it despite selling it at lower prices.

Devakumar Edwin, the Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, disclosed this while speaking on a Twitter Space session organised by Nairametrics.

He said marketers of petroleum products in Nigeria have written to President Bola Tinubu to complain that the drop in price of Dangote Refinery’s diesel to N900 per litre is not good for their businesses.

“Petroleum product marketers in Nigeria have written to President Bola Tinubu to complain that the refinery local prices, which have dropped from N1,200 to N1,000 and now N900 per litre, are impacting their businesses negatively,” he said.

Edwin reiterated that it would export its products if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and oil marketers refused to patronise the Dangote Refinery.

He noted that the refinery struggles to sell about 29 tankers of diesel per day due to low patronage from local petroleum product importers.

“As a result of this poor local patronage, the refinery exports most of its diesel and aviation fuel.

“I explained how there has been a kind of blockade from lifting our products within the country. The traders have been trying to block (it),”

He also said the refinery had commenced production of PMS (fuel) and hoped that the NNPC and oil marketers would patronise it or else it would sell outside the country. 

“So, the good news for the country is we have started producing PMS from our refinery… But if the traders or NNPC are not buying the product, we will end up exporting the PMS as we are doing with the aviation jet and diesel,” he declared.

It will be recalled that the Chairman of the Dangote refinery, Aliko Dangote, lamented efforts by cabals in the oil and gas industry and the NNPC to frustrate the refinery, which is expected to bring succour to Nigeria, whose informal economy depend on petrol prices.

Edwin reiterated claims by Dangote that the refinery is importing crude oil because the NNPC has refused to sell it.

“The philosophy is to take the crude, and instead of exporting the crude, refine it, add value; export the finished products, and supply the finished products locally. But unfortunately for us, we started facing challenges with the crude supply.

“We are struggling to get the crude. We are now importing crude from the US, Brazil, and other parts of the world. So, the whole philosophy has gone upside down. After all these decades, we are exporting crude, importing products,” he lamented.

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