Reports filtered in recently quoting the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s national oil body, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, confirming that the company had ended fuel importation and was instead, obtaining fuel from Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other local refineries.
NNPCL clarifies fuel import report
The NNPCL has confirmed the information to be false and according to the group’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr Femi Soneye, the false narrative ascribed to the NNPC MD was unfortunate.
The report said that though Kyari’s statement was correctly quoted in the report, the interpretation contained factually inaccurate assertions and misrepresentations.
“The GCEO’s statement, ‘Today, NNPC does not import any product; we are only taking from domestic refineries’, should not be construed to imply that NNPC Ltd. is obligated to be the sole off-taker of any refinery or that we will no longer import fuel.
“While NNPC prioritises sourcing products from domestic refineries, this is contingent upon economic viability. If local supply is cost-effective, it will be preferred, but the same principle applies to other marketers, who will also evaluate total costs when deciding whether to buy locally or import,” he added.
Dangote’s moves to boost supply
The arrival of the Dangote refinery was expected to bring a consistent supply of petrol at a lower price, but this issue is still causing confusion between the refinery and marketers.
Recently, Aliko Dangote, the founder and president of the Dangote Group, proudly announced that his refinery has a stock of over 500 million liters of petrol, sufficient to meet Nigeria’s needs if retailers purchase from it.
Dangote further questioned the continued fuel importation wondering why the NNPCL and private retailers were still importing petrol when his refinery could produce enough.
“So, I am expecting that the NNPC Ltd and the marketers should stop importing; they should come and collect what they need,”
“I don’t know if you understand what it means to keep half a billion litres in our tanks; it is costing me money.” Dangote said.
The dilemma in Nigeria’s petroleum industry
Despite being an oil-producing country, Nigeria has over the years, spent about N24 trillion annually to import petrol and diesel, excluding aviation fuel, kerosene, and gas.
Nairametrics reports between October 1 and November 11, Nigeria’s import volume for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) stood at 1.5 million metric tonnes, diesel was 414,018 metric tonnes and aviation fuel import volume was 13,500 metric tonnes with a cumulative cost of nearly N3 trillion.
Nigeria’s daily petrol usage stands at about 66 million litres of petrol on average, and with the Dangote refinery coming on board, the government aimed to save billions of dollars in foreign exchange as well as enhance the local availability of the critical fuel heavily used by businesses and homes.
This lofty dream has failed to become a reality two months after Dangote refinery kicked-off PMS production.
The government’s failure to revamp the country’s ailing refineries and reduce reliance on fuel imports, which drains the nation’s coffers poses a significant threat to Nigeria’s economic stability in the long term.
