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BREAKING: We Paid In Dollars, But Petrol Cost ₦898 Per Litre – NNPCL Counters Dangote Refinery

Published

2 months ago

Sep 16, 2024.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has insisted that it paid ₦898 per litre for petrol purchased from Dangote Refinery.

Olufemi Soneye, NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, reiterated this in response to a statement from the refinery.

Earlier, Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote, had denied NNPCL’s claim, stating that the refinery did not sell petrol to the company at ₦898 per litre.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Speaking with Daily Trust over the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, Soneye had said, “We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today. The claim that we purchased it at N760 per liter is incorrect. For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per litre.”

It was reported how the oil firm had moved about 300 trucks to the 650,000 capacity refinery in Lagos, on Saturday, and loading commenced on Sunday.

In its statement, Dangote Refinery accused NNPCL of misleading the public and urged Nigerians to await an official announcement on pricing from the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, appointed by President Bola Tinubu.

Dangote Refinery further countered NNPCL’s narrative by clarifying that the oil firm paid in dollars for the petrol.

In response, NNPCL acknowledged paying in dollars but confirmed that Naira-based sales would commence on October 1, 2024. It also dismissed Dangote Refinery’s claim that the Sub-Technical Committee would announce the PMS price at the refinery.

“The NNPC Ltd has released estimated prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as Petrol (obtained from the Dangote Refinery), in its retail stations across the country.”

“The NNPC Ltd also wishes to state that, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), PMS prices are not set by the government but negotiated directly between parties on an arms length.

“The NNPC Ltd can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1st, 2024.

“The NNPC Ltd assures that if the quoted pricing is disputed, it will be grateful for any discount from the Dangote Refinery, which will be passed on 100% to the general public.”

The oil firm subsequently gave a breakdown of its acquisition of from the refinery, attaching the estimated pump prices of PMS across NNPC Retail Stations in the country, “based on September 2024 pricing”.