News
Dangote Refinery Confirms petrol will hit local market in August
Dangote Refinery has insisted that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, refined at the refinery, will hit the market by August.
The company’s Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, disclosed this to TrackNews Media in an interview on Monday.
The response came amid concerns over the earlier announcement that the refinery would commence domestic supply by mid-August.
When asked why the refinery is yet to commence domestic supply at its stipulated date of 12 August, Mr Chiejina said, “We said August, and today is 12 August. Just wait; this is August.”
Over the months, the company had set dates for its domestic petrol supply, but the timelines were unmet.
In June, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said petrol, refined at the refinery, will hit the market in July.
Mr Dangote, who disclosed this when he received a Senate delegation led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on a tour of the facility, explained that the date change was because of a delay that prompted the shift from the initially proposed date of June to mid-July.
“We had a bit of delay, but PMS will start coming out by 10 to 15 of July. But then, we want to keep it in the tank to make sure that it settles. So by the third week of July, we’ll be able to come out to take it into the market,” Mr Dangote said at the time.
Again, in July, Mr Dangote said petrol production in the refinery was disrupted because of the fire incident at the refinery.
The 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery commenced diesel and aviation fuel production in January.
Announcing the commencement of production, the company said the refinery had received six million barrels of crude oil at its two SPMs 25 kilometres from the shore.
The first crude delivery was done on 12 December 2023, and the sixth cargo was delivered on 8 January.
The company made a further move towards the commencement of the production of refined petroleum products with the receipt of an additional one million barrels of bonny light crude supplied by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC Ltd).
The company commenced supplying petroleum products to the local market in April.
In recent months, the Dangote Group and the petroleum regulators in Nigeria have been at loggerheads over the control of the petroleum downstream market.
In June, the Dangote Group accused some international oil companies of sabotaging the plant’s operations by refusing to supply crude or offering oil at higher premiums than market prices.
It also clashed with the regulators of the Nigerian energy industry, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, which claimed diesel from the refiner has sulphur content levels above the allowed threshold. The regulators also accused Dangote of seeking to be a monopoly.
In refuting the allegation, Mr Dangote took lawmakers visiting the refinery to a laboratory within the plant, where diesel from the refinery was tested alongside two different imported samples.
The results showed that the refinery’s diesel sample had much lower sulphur than the imported ones.
Last month, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) directed NNPC Ltd to engage the Dangote refinery and other local refineries to resolve the dispute over the sale of crude oil to them.
The FEC, presided over by President Bola Tinubu, also directed that such crude oil sales to the refineries be made in naira and that the refineries located in Nigeria should also sell their refined products to the Nigerian market in naira.
-
Gist6 days ago
Couple Tragically Dies in Inverter Battery Explosion in Abakaliki, Leaving Behind 3-Year-Old Son
-
Niger Delta4 days ago
IYC: 12 Killed, Over 50 Injured as Violence Erupts Over Eastern Zone Election
-
Politics5 days ago
Breaking: APC candidacy threatened as Abuja Court summons Okpebholo for making false statements on oath
-
Entertainment6 days ago
‘I’m not looking for a rich man, all I need is a man who will love me, true love isn’t just about money as Nigerian ladies think’ – Tems
-
National3 days ago
NAFDAC Press Statement Against Christ Mercy Land Deliverance Ministry Incorrect
-
News7 days ago
Olukoyede Vows to Sanitise the Banking Sector
-
News7 days ago
Kogi Mourns The Passing Of Mr. Yunus Ustaz Usman SAN
-
Crime7 days ago
Court Jails Internet Fraudster in Enugu