The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has offered to supply 60 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria weekly, which translates to 240 million litres monthly.
It was gathered from the association that the refinery agreed to give 60 million litres of PMS to IPMAN members weekly, depending on patronage.
This came as it was gathered that the $20bn Lekki-based refinery is aiming to raise billions of dollars to import crude oil and increase production.
Also on Sunday, oil dealers stated that petrol prices were declining following the competition occasioned by the deregulation of the sector, especially as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other marketers imported over two billion litres of PMS in 42 days.
In an interview with The PUNCH, IPMAN National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, said members of the association can lift any quantity of PMS allocated to them by the Dangote refinery, stressing that independent marketers were the ones distributing the majority of the fuel imported into the country.
Recall that the association announced recently that it had signed an agreement with Dangote to lift PMS directly from the refinery without a middleman.
Giving an update, Ukadike said, “We are going to off-take the product in millions of litres. Before now, most of the imported products in Nigeria were distributed through IPMAN. So we can off-take the products, no matter the millions of litres that are produced.”
Asked whether there is an agreed volume that IPMAN would off-take from Dangote once independent marketers start loading petrol from the plant, the National Publicity Secretary replied, “We can take from 10 million litres and above and Dangote has offered to give us over 60 million litres depending on our patronage.
“The 60 million litres is to be given weekly. And we can take and distribute it across the country once we start lifting the product from the refinery.”
On when IPMAN would start lifting the product, Ukadike stated that this would be made public after both parties had concluded discussions on the deal.
He expressed confidence that the direct supply would begin before the end of November.
“We are finalising discussions. You know the meeting between IPMAN and the Dangote refinery was held last week and documentation is in process. So, there are still a few pieces of documentation that we are doing now. Once they are sorted, we will off-take PMS from the plant.
“This is going to happen before the end of this month. The Dangote Group has assured us that even if we want to start taking products from today, we should start,” he added.
Ukadike spoke further, “IPMAN has gathered its members and we have developed a Special Purpose Vehicle to off-take the products from the refinery. So, the issue of individuals going to buy one or two trucks has gone. IPMAN is now going to be a major distributor and our money will be guaranteed.
“The time has gone when some dealers will tell us they have products when they actually do not, and they will lock up our money in their system. So, we are taking this as a very effective measure to be able to ensure that the distribution value chain is efficient.”
Prices drop
Both IPMAN and major marketers confirmed that the pump prices of petrol have started reducing in many parts due to the competition that the deregulation of the downstream sector has caused.
The IPMAN spokesman said the agreement between IPMNAN and Dangote is gradually pushing down the price of PMS.
“By just the announcement that IPMAN and Dangote have met and are ready to transact business, the prices of products have crashed. You would have noticed the drop in prices by N10, N15, or so, and this is due to competition.
“Independent marketers are no longer buying from middlemen. We are going to be buying directly from the producer. So, the competition is setting in. I also want to tell you that before the end of this year, the price will not be as high as what you see now.
“You can see how our meeting with Dangote has significantly removed about N10 from the prices of refined petroleum products. It is a good development. We have not even started. Remember I once told you that prices would drop once IPMAN started lifting from Dangote,” Ukadike stated.
Also confirming the drop in prices, a major oil marketer stated that this was due to the deregulation of the downstream oil sector.
“People are not noticing that prices are going down, primarily because there are no big announcements. Deregulation is in full swing and competition is the order of the day,” the major oil marketer, who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.
When told that the cost of petrol was still above N1,000/litre and was N1,070/litre in filling stations operated by his company, the dealer replied, “Last week it was N1,080 (in some filling stations) if you were observant.
“You may not see N900; that is below cost. Just stop expecting a permanent fixed price. It can come down and it can go up.”
Deregulation opens imports
While IPMAN has declared its resolve to patronise the Dangote refinery, some major marketers and NNPC are going ahead with the importation of refined products, though they patronise the plant when necessary.
Our correspondent reported on Saturday that within 42 days, the NNPC and other players imported 1.5 million metric tonnes of PMS, 414,018.764 metric tonnes of diesel, and 13,500 metric tonnes of jet fuel.