NNPC sets deadline to end fuel importation

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) has assured that it will reduce its imports of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) aka petrol, as soon as the Dangote Refinery begins producing refined petroleum products in late July or early August.

Currently, the NNPCL is Nigeria’s sole importer of petrol, a responsibility it has carried out for many years.

The national oil firm’s spokesperson, Garba-Deen Muhammad, during a media briefing, on Wednesday, revealed that fuel importation will be eliminated as a result of the establishment of the Dangote Refinery.

NNPCL owns a 20 per cent stake in the Dangote Refinery. The 650,000 barrels per day crude oil processing refinery was inaugurated on May 22, 2023 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who described the facility as a game-changer.

Speaking on the subject, Muhammad said: “NNPC Limited is bringing in products from outside Nigeria as a matter of necessity, not as a matter of choice. We would have preferred that we produce here, refine here and we sell and provide the energy security that the country needs.

“Because of the circumstances that surround our refineries, we cannot allow the country to be grounded. So we have to buy wherever we can get and sell. So if Dangote products are available, why should we not buy from Dangote?

“There is absolutely no reason. And that is the reason why we are interested in the Dangote Refinery. We are co-owners, shouldn’t we do business with our partners rather than do it with other people?”

Muhammad also explained that the NNPCL would be supplying crude oil to the Dangote Refinery based on business agreement between both parties, and that this would be in accordance with the international price of crude.

“NNPC owns 20 per cent of that asset and we have an agreement with Dangote that we will supply the refinery with crude. So as soon as Dangote begins to request for crude to pay for it, NNPC is prepared to supply the crude as a business transaction.

“We have been selling crude to different parts of the world for decades, and it is not whether we will sell it to Dangote, for why won’t we sell to Dangote when we are selling to other refineries and countries?”