Business & Strategy

Dangote Refinery Denies Selling Petrol to NNPCL at ₦898 per Litre

Written by Jerry Alomatu on September 16, 2024

News Views: 327

The Dangote Refinery has refuted claims that it is selling petrol to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) at ₦898 per litre. In a statement on Sunday, the refinery’s spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina, labeled the allegation as “misleading and mischievous.”

Chiejina clarified that the claims, attributed to NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye, were an attempt to undermine the refinery’s significant achievement in addressing Nigeria’s long-standing energy insufficiency. He urged the public to disregard the statement and wait for an official announcement on pricing by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales, which is expected on October 1, 2024.

“It should also be noted that we sold the products to NNPCL in dollars with a lot of savings against what they are currently importing. With this action, there will be petrol in every local government area of the country regardless of their remote nature”. Chiejina added.

The NNPCL began loading its first batch of petrol from the Dangote Refinery on Sunday, marking a key milestone for the facility, which began operations last December. With a current capacity of 350,000 barrels per day, the refinery aims to reach full capacity of 650,000 barrels by the end of the year.

Nigeria, which faces significant energy challenges, relies heavily on imported refined products, as its state-owned refineries remain non-operational. Fuel prices have surged since the removal of subsidies in May 2023, rising from ₦200/litre to nearly ₦1000/litre.