Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The Federal Government has disclosed that Dangote Petroleum Refinery will commence the distribution of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, on Sunday.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed this at a press conference in Anima, on Friday.
The minister, who was represented by the chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, said all agreements have been completed for the loading of the first batch of petrol.
“I am glad to announce that all agreements have been completed and loading of the first batch of PMS from the Dangote Refinery will commence on Sunday, September 15,” he said.
According to the minister, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) will supply about 385,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) to Dangote refinery starting next month.
“From October 1, NNPC Ltd. will commence the supply of about 385,000 bpd of crude oil to the Dangote refinery, to be paid for in naira.
“In return, the Dangote refinery will supply PMS and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market, to be paid in naira,” he said.
Edun also said Dangote refinery will sell petrol to only NNPCL, noting that interested marketers would have to buy the product from the national oil firm.
However, the minister said the Dangote refinery can sell diesel to any off-taker.
“Diesel will be sold in naira by the Dangote refinery to any interested off-taker. PMS will only be sold to NNPC, NNPC will then sell to various marketers for now,” he said.
Edun’s statement contradicts NNPC’s claim on September 7 that it does not intend to be the sole distributor of petrol produced by the Dangote refinery.
The minister further said all associated regulatory costs pertaining to the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and others would also be paid for in naira.
“We are also setting up a one-stop shop that will coordinate service provision from all regulatory, and security agencies, and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation of this initiative. This will be located in Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Lagos.
“The technical committee that worked to flesh out this initiative will transition to an implementation, execution and monitoring committee that will be working out of Lagos for the next three to six months,” he added.
On the approval to sell crude oil to local refineries in naira and purchase petrol from the refiners in the local currency, Edun said the decision would reduce pressure on the local currency.
Recall that the federal executive council (FEC) had on July 29 approved a proposal by President Bola Tinubu directing the NNPC to sell crude oil to the Dangote refinery and other refineries in naira.
The minister noted that the move would eliminate unnecessary transaction costs, and improve the availability of petroleum products in the country.
He added that the implementation committee chaired by him, and the other technical committee had worked intensely with the NNPC and Dangote refinery to fashion out the details of the modalities for the implementation of the approval by the FEC.
Edun thanked Tinubu for championing the initiative and assured the president that he could count on the committee to implement his vision.
