JUST IN: NNPCL hikes fuel price to N1, 030/l in Abuja, N998/l in Lagos
Maureen Aguta
Ahead its plan to end it agreement as the sole off-taker of Dangote Refinery petrol, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) today (Wednesday) increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to N1,030 per litre at its various outlets in Abuja.
On Monday, October 7th, 2024, NNPCL ended its agreement with Dangote Refinery as the sole buyer of PMS, allowing other marketers to directly buy the product from the refinery.
Consequently the national oil company is no longer the sole off-taker while marketers are now free to negotiate prices directly with Dangote Refinery.
Meanwhile, Advocacy Times checks on Wednesday, indicate that nothing has changed at the Dangote Refinery. The Chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Abubakar Maigandi confirmed that NNPCL remains the sole offtaker of oil products from Dangote Refinery, with IPMAN members operating in a retail capacity.
He however disclosed that discussion is ongoing between IPMAN and Dangote Refinery on direct purchase and pricing.
Our correspondent learnt that the shift by the NNPCL aligns with government determination to fully deregulated the downstream section of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, enabling refineries to sell to marketers on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis.
With the latest development, oil marketers will fix pump prices of fuel per liter based on the prices at which they purchase from Dangote.
By implication and with the N1030 pump price of NNPCL, pump prices of the product by the major and independent marketers are now expected to be over the NNPCL pump price.
Background
The NNPCL had claimed in September that it was buying petrol from Dangote Refinery at N898.78 per litre and selling to marketers at N765.99 per litre, shouldering a subsidy of almost N133 per litre. However, the company said this arrangement is no longer sustainable.
The NNPC lifted about 103 million litres of petrol from Dangote Refinery between September 15 and 30. The refinery was able to load 2,207 of the 3,621 trucks sent to it within the period under review.
The vehicles carried just 102,973,025 litres of the planned 400,000,000 litres of petrol earmarked to be lifted from the refinery at 25 million litres per day. That translated to just 26 per cent performance, records, per Premium Times report.