By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerians anticipate an ease in the scarcity of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol in the coming days as loading the first batch of fuel from the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery commenced on Sunday, September 15.
A fleet of trucks belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited started lifting the product from the refinery in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State.
“First set of trucks set for loading of PMS at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery,” a post by Dangote Group on X, formerly known as Twitter, stated.
The shipping of petrol from the Dangote Refinery signifies a step that could end decades of dependence on imports of the fuel for Africa’s largest crude producer.
For years, the country hasn’t been able to produce petrol which is consumed by millions daily locally despite having four government-built refineries.
On Saturday, the NNPC Limited stated that hundreds of trucks would be deployed to the refinery on Sunday for PMS loading.
The NNPC stated, “In preparation for the Dangote Refinery’s scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, 15th September 2024, NNPC Ltd has been mobilising trucks to the refinery’s fuel loading gantry in Ibeju-Lekki. As of Saturday afternoon, NNPC Ltd had deployed over 100 trucks, with hundreds more en route.”
In preparation for the Dangote Refinery’s scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, September 15, 2024, NNPC Limited has been mobilizing trucks to the refinery’s fuel loading gantry in Ibeju-Lekki.
Recently, the Presidential Committee on the Sale of Crude Oil and Refined Products said that the Dangote Refinery will sell petrol only to the state oil company.
It also added that from October 1, NNPC will commence the supply of crude oil to Dangote Refinery to be paid for in Naira.
In return, Dangote Refinery will supply PMS and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market to be paid for in Naira.
“But for now, PMS will only be sold to NNPC. NNPC will then sell to various marketers,” Mr Zacch Adedeji, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and member of the committee said.
Modupe Gbadeyanka
[…] In September 2024, the Dangote Refinery, which has the capacity to refine 650,000 million barrels of crude oil per day, commenced the production of petrol. […]