The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has clarified that it cannot set prices for petrol in Nigeria, stressing that the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) market is strictly regulated by the government.
This came after a “misleading” report in the media which claimed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited had started lifting petrol from the refinery to sell at N897 per litre.
In a statement signed by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer Anthony Chiejina on Thursday, Dangote Refinery underscored that the price of PMS is not determined by the refinery itself but by regulatory authorities in the government, saying, “The PMS market is strictly regulated, which is known to all oil marketers and stakeholders in the sector. Hence, we cannot determine, fix, or influence the product price, which falls under the purview of relevant government authorities.”
Dangote Refinery also clarified that no PMS has been lifted from its refinery as the contract with NNPC is still under negotiation.
The statement read in part, “We would like to state that NNPC has not commenced lifting of refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from our Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
“Therefore, the issue of fixing the price of petrol lifted from our refinery does not arise, as we are yet to finalise our contract with NNPC.”
The refinery urged the public to disregard the “misleading” story, reassuring Nigerians that its focus remains on delivering high-quality petroleum products. “We are guaranteeing Nigerians of exceptionally high-quality petroleum products that will be readily available all over the country,” Chiejina said, further highlighting the company’s commitment to providing reliable fuel solutions.
Dangote Refinery, earlier this week, announced that it has commenced petrol processing, and according to Devakumar Edwin, Vice president oil and gas at Dangote Industries Limited, the NNPC as the country’s sole importer of petrol, would exclusively purchase the refinery’s petrol.
Dangote, speaking on the distribution of the petrol, said on Tuesday, “Our petrol can be in filling stations within the next 48 hours depending on NNPC and that the pricing of the petrol would be based on an agreement with the federal government.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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