Dangote refinery: No guarantee of lower prices, says NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has denied claims that it is responsible for the recent hike in Premium Motor Spirit, commonly called petrol, in the country.

The company said the pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including the Dangote Refinery Ltd, is determined by global market forces, stating that there is no guarantee of lower prices associated with domestic refining of the products in the country.

The NNPC stated this on Saturday in reaction to rumours it is attempting to monopolise the offtake of all products from the Dangote refinery.

In the statement titled “NNPC Ltd Not the Sole Offtaker; Market Open to Lower Prices from Any Domestic Refinery”, the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, said, “The attention of the NNPC Ltd has been drawn to a press release by the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, which claims that the Dangote Refinery Limited (DRL) is being undermined by actions of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).

“Specifically, MURIC asserts that recent changes to the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) will prevent the Dangote Refinery from offering lower prices and that NNPC Ltd. has become the sole off-taker of all products from the refinery.”

The company said to set the records straight, “The pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including the Dangote Refinery Ltd. (DRL), is determined by global market forces.”

NNPC said, “The recent changes in PMS prices have no impact on the DRL or any other domestic refinery’s access to the Nigerian market,” adding that “In fact, if current prices are perceived as high, it presents an ideal opportunity for the refinery to sell its products at lower prices in the Nigerian market.”

The NNPC further emphasised “that there is no guarantee of lower prices associated with domestic refining compared to any global parity pricing framework, as confirmed by the DRL.”

“The NNPC Ltd. will only fully offtake PMS from the DRL if the market prices of PMS are higher than the pump prices in Nigeria. The DRL and any other domestic refinery are free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, which is the current practice for all fully deregulated products.

“NNPC Ltd. has no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment, and therefore, the notion of becoming a sole off-taker does not arise,” it said.

The NNPC said it cannot undermine a business in which it holds a billion-dollar stake.

“As an advocacy group for fair and just treatment, MURIC should have verified the facts before making statements that are entirely flawed and has the potential to incite ordinary Nigerians against the NNPC Ltd,” the company said.