By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Refinery has started processing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited set to become the initial exclusive buyer of its products.
The report confirmed that the $19.5 billion refinery located in Lagos is ready to roll out petrol in the coming weeks as testing has begun in the 650,000 barrels per day petrochemical plant.
The vice president at Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Devakumar Edwin, also mentioned that the national oil company was prepared to purchase its products exclusively to meet local demands.
“We are testing the product (gasoline) and subsequently it will start flowing into the product tanks.
“If no one is buying it, we will export it as we have been exporting our aviation jet fuel and diesel,” Mr Edwin said, according to Reuters.
He, however, did not mention when the product will hit the market.
The announcement that the NNPC will become the exclusive buyer of petrol from the Dangote refinery could provide much-needed relief to the organisation, which is currently grappling with its international obligations to oil traders.
On Sunday, the firm acknowledged its debt to international oil traders, which has significantly contributed to the shortage of fuel supply to local marketers and created a long-term fuel scarcity in the country.
Fuel queues have persisted across the country since July with prices selling as high as N900 per litre from the official price of N617 naira that was announced after subsidy removal was announced by President Bola Tinubu in May last year.
There are indications that fuel subsidies have returned and played a huge factor in the recent development, but the federal government has not outrightly admitted to it.
Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer but imports almost all its fuel due to years of neglect of its national refineries.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Dipo Olowookere