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The Dangote Petroleum Refinery is set to begin the sale of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol.
This comes shortly after the 650,000-capacity refinery conducted a test-run of the product. Industry sources have confirmed that the product will soon be available in the market.
The government and the Dangote Group are working out the modalities for the circulation of the product, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited being the sole authorised seller at the moment.
The refinery had previously faced challenges with crude shortage and issues with the regulatory authority, but the intervention of the Federal Government to supply crude in local currency appears to have resolved these problems.
Dangote and other local refineries have accused international oil companies of not selling crude to them directly, and the Federal Government has announced that the crude oil supply deal will commence in October.
The group also alleged that the foreign oil producers seemed to be prioritising Asian countries in selling the crude they produce in Nigeria.
It was reported last month that the Dangote refinery engaged in an exchange of words with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission over the alleged supply of 29 million barrels of crude oil to the refinery.
The Dangote Group had accused the NUPRC of failing to effectively enforce the Domestic Crude Supply Obligations regulations, saying the refinery had yet to get enough crude locally.
Reacting, the NUPRC debunked the claim, stating that it facilitated the supply of over 29 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote from January to June 2024.
The NUPRC argued that it had facilitated the domestic supply of crude oil to Dangote refinery and other refineries using the monthly production curtailment platform.
But in a swift response, the Dangote Group also denied receiving 29 million barrels of crude from any source.
The Dangote Group spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina, stated that while they received a statement from NUPRC about the allocation of 29 million barrels of crude oil to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, they had not yet received those cargoes.
Aside from the term supply they negotiated with NNPCL, NUPRC has only facilitated the purchase of one crude cargo from a domestic producer, with the rest of the cargoes being purchased from international traders.
The refinery is requesting that refineries in Nigeria buy crude directly from the companies that produce it in Nigeria, rather than from international middlemen.
Nigerians are hopeful that Dangote's refinery will lead to a reduction in the pump price of PMS.
