…Blasts Oil Marketers Over High Petrol Price Claims
…Says Oil Trading Company Planning To Dump Sub-Standard Petrol Into Nigerian Market
The Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company on Sunday claimed that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority does not have iaboratory facilities which can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.
It said this in a statement issued on Sunday signed by Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer.
Dangote in the statement also blasted oil marketers for claiming that it was cheaper to import petrol than to buy from the refinery.
It warned the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the
Petroleum Products Retail Outlets owners to desist from misinformation being circulated by both organisations.
The Refinery also claimed that any imported petrol sold at a price lower than that offered by it is substandard.
The Dangote Refinery warned that such products could pose health risks to Nigerians and potentially damage vehicles.
Citing regulatory lapses, the Dangote Refinery expressed concern over the lack of laboratory facilities within the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to detect substandard petrol imports.
The statement said, “We had lately refrained from engaging in media fights but we are constrained to respond to the recent misinformation being circulated by IPMAN, PETROAN, and other associations.
“Both organisations claim that they can import PMS at lower prices than what is being sold by the Dangote Refinery.
“We benchmark our prices against international prices and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports.
“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low quality products into the country, without concern for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles.
“Unfortunately, the regulator (NMDPRA) does not even have iaboratory facilities which can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.”
It said post deregulation, NNPC set the pace by selling PMS to domestic marketers at N971 per litre for sale into ships and at N990 for sale into trucks.
This, Dangote added, had set the benchmark for its pricing, claiming that the Refinery even went lower to sell at N960 per litre for sale into ships while maintaining N990 per litre for sale into trucks.
It said, “In good faith, and in the interest of the country, we commenced sales at these prices without clarity on the exchange rate that we will use to pay for the crude purchased.
“At the same time, an international trading company has recently hired a depot facility next to the Dangote Refinery, with the objective of using it to blend substandard products that will be dumped into the market to compete with Dangote Refinery’s higher quality production.
“This is detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria. We should point out that it is not unusual for countries to protect their domestic industries in order to provide jobs and grow the economy.
“For example, the US and Europe have had to impose high tariffs on EVs and microchips in order to protect their domestic industries.
“While we continue with our determination to provide affordable, good quality, domestically refined petroleum product in Nigeria, we call on the public to disregard the deliberate disinformation being circulated by agents of people who prefer for us to continue to export jobs and import poverty.”
ENDS