Dangote Refinery May Stop PMS Sales to Marketers

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals may discontinue the sale of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, to major marketers who continue to import petrol into Nigeria.

The Lagos-based refinery expressed concerns over the quality of products being brought into the country by these oil marketers, which could compromise its standard.

However, before this policy is implemented, critical stakeholders would be consulted by Dangote Refinery, according to reports.

It was claimed that some oil marketers import substandard PMS into the country under the Dangote brand, a development the company is not happy about.

“It is difficult to understand why we would invest heavily in producing high-quality petroleum products for Nigerians, only for those products to be mixed with imported products of uncertain quality and the resulting product to be associated with the refinery,” a source was quoted in the reports as expressing frustration over the situation.

Dangote Refinery, with a capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, has not had a smooth operation in Nigeria because of different factors.

The organisation has questioned why the Nigerian government has issued licences to marketers to import petrol into the country when it has the capacity to meet the nation’s consumption.

But the argument has been that the licences are to promote competition and not create a monopoly, especially because of the importance of energy security.

The Nigerian government deregulated the downstream sector, allowing players to dictate prices of petroleum products. At the moment, petrol is being sold at about N1,300 per litre in Lagos and other places.