Oil marketers are awaiting the release of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, as they revealed that managers of the plant have not reached any PMS pricing agreement with petrol retailers yet.
It was reported on Sunday that the Dangote refinery again delayed the date for the supply of petrol till August, another shift from July.
The President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, told journalists that the refinery was set to roll out its petrol in August 2024, having resolved its crude oil supply issues through the help of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Federal Government.
Commenting on the development, dealers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria stated that the shift in date for PMS supply from the refinery was not surprising.
They expressed readiness to lift products from the plant, but noted that the price of the commodity was not given yet by the refinery.
Responding to an enquiry by our correspondent on the matter, the President, IPMAN, Abubakar Maigandi, said, “Yes, July was announced before, but the new date is now August. We don’t have a problem with that. The most important thing is for the refinery to start rolling out PMS.
“Maybe they have a challenge and can’t meet the July target. However, we the oil marketers have already prepared ourselves and immediately he (Dangote) starts releasing the product we are going to load.”
On whether marketers had reached an agreement on the price of petrol from the refinery, the IPMAN president replied, “Up till now we are waiting for him to give us the price.
“But as I speak to you, there is no price for the PMS being produced by that refinery. So we are waiting. However, when he starts releasing the product, the price must come out. But up till now there is no price.”
The IPMAN president reiterated that independent oil marketers were ready to lift products, stressing that “we are just waiting for him to start. We have already informed all our members nationwide to start loading when he begins. We are ready to patronise him.”
On his part, the President, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, said the shift in date from July to August did not come to his group as a surprise.
“I said initially that the July date would not work considering the many processes involved. Also on whether August would be feasible, I’ll say that they have their system and they’ll decide that,” he stated.
The PETROAN president also stated that the management of the refinery had still not disclosed the amount to expect for a litre of petrol from the plant.
“He has not discussed PMS pricing with us. But yesterday I was talking to a team from there and we hope to know the price in due course,” Gillis-Harry stated.
