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Nigeria’s fuel supply chain is facing scrutiny as, despite the recent commencement of petrol loading at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the majority of filling stations countrywide continue to face shortages, raising questions about the effectiveness of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s distribution networks.
Representing over 70% of Nigeria’s fuel retail infrastructure, independent petroleum marketers revealed to journalists on Saturday that they have yet to receive petrol supplies from the Dangote refinery through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
When queried about the status of petrol distribution from the Lekki-based plant, Abubakar Maigandi, National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, responded with a simple yet telling phrase: “We are waiting to start,” indicating that dealers have yet to receive the product.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) achieved a key operational milestone last Sunday with the kickoff of petrol loading at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, leveraging its substantial 650,000 barrels per day production capacity.
In an earlier statement, NNPC outlined plans to load 16.8 million liters of petrol from Dangote’s refining facility, which was less than the 25 million liters per day the refinery initially indicated it would provide to the national oil company.
The spokesperson of NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, confirmed that over 70 trucks of PMS departed the Dangote refinery last Sunday, which was the first day for the release of petrol from the plant to the domestic market.
Since then, the company has been taking products from the plant, as it also directed major marketers to lift petrol based on agreements with them, but on Saturday it was confirmed that independent marketers were yet to get Dangote petrol.
NNPC, which is currently the sole off-taker of PMS from the Lagos-based refinery, did not immediately respond to enquiries on why IPMAN members have not been allowed to access the product from the Dangote refinery.
The National Publicity Secretary of IPMAN, Chief Ukadike Chinede, also confirmed that members of the association were still awaiting NNPC as regards petrol supply from the Dangote refinery.
IPMAN members, who control a significant majority of Nigeria’s fuel stations, revealed that they are still awaiting supply of Dangote petrol from NNPC, with the organization’s representative stating, “As of now, we haven’t started receiving the product.
Read also: Petrol Distribution: Major Marketers Turn To Dangote Refinery
“The current situation is that NNPC is still serving us with their imported products. That’s what we are loading for now and they haven’t communicated to us about the issue of Dangote.
“I think what they (NNPC) did was to take Dangote fuel to their own (NNPC) retail outlets because there was no design for NNPC to give IPMAN products via trucks.”
Ukadike advocated for equitable distribution of Dangote petrol, pointing out that NNPC’s current supply chain favors major oil marketers, and called for the inclusion of IPMAN members, who are ready and willing to purchase the product.
“What we do is self-picking. We use our trucks to pick products. So if we were factored into picking up petrol from Dangote, our trucks would have been at its terminals.
“But this time, it is only for NNPC mobilised trucks. We are still waiting for further directives and like I said in other interviews, we are willing buyers and what we are looking for is a willing seller.”
The IPMAN representative revealed that NNPC’s limited distribution channels contribute to the inflated cost of Dangote petrol, citing reports that major marketers purchase the fuel at N776 per liter, while independent marketers are left waiting.
“When you add logistics costs and other necessary things, you would understand why it still sells at the current price. However, when there is an adequate supply of petrol, the price will reduce. Also, the price of diesel is still high. Once the price of diesel goes down, the price of trucking will go down.”
High-ranking officials from major oil marketing firms reported that they have started collecting petrol from the Dangote refinery, thanks to carefully crafted accords with NNPC, underscoring the refinery’s emerging role as a key player in Nigeria’s fuel ecosystem.
Industry experts revealed that major marketers bought Dangote petrol from NNPC at N766 per liter, but the exact figure Dangote received from NNPC for the product is still under wraps
