Petroleum marketers in Nigeria have said they are at a crossroads over the furore hanging over Dangote Refinery Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) pricing as released by the Nigerian NationalPtroleum Company Limited on Monday.
Marketers also stated that Nigeria cannot depend on domestic Petrol production to meet its daily consumption which stood at N50 million according to Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority latest data.
President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry called for absolute transparency in the oil and gas sector.
According to him, the Dangote Refinery needs to come open to stakeholders on the exact price of its petrol as a prerequisite for marketers to purchase the product.
“Dangote Refinery should tell us what price it is selling its petrol since NNPCL has given its selling price.
“We should be able to know exactly what price that is coming from Dangote Refinery Petrol to us. We should know how NNPCL will deal with us. As it is now, we are standing in limbo”, he said.
When probed whether marketers would look to importation amid the cost of Dangote Refinery Petrol, Gillis-Harry said, ” Dangote Refinery is producing about 25 million liters a day. That is just about 15,000 metric tonnes which is less than one cargo.
“And NNPCL has been selling so many cargoes to depot owners, including our members, to distribute to Nigerians previously.
“What it means is that we’re not going to be dependent on the petrol product that is produced in-country. There must be a level of importation to make up for the difference.”
