Dangote Petroleum Refinery has clarified why it cannot set the price of petrol.
In a statement released on Thursday, Anthony Chiejina, the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, explained that the market for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is heavily regulated, a fact well-known to all oil marketers and industry stakeholders. This regulation is the reason Dangote is unable to set, fix, or influence the price of the product.
Chiejina also criticized an online media report (not from Vanguard) that claimed the Dangote Group had set the price of its refined petrol at N897 per litre.
He pointed out that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has not yet begun lifting products from their refinery.
In the statement, he said: “We have been made aware of a headline stating ‘NNPC lifts Dangote Petrol, sells at N897 per litre’ published by a news outlet (not Vanguard) on September 4, 2024.
“We want to clarify that NNPC has not started lifting refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from our Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
“As such, the question of setting a price for petrol from our refinery is irrelevant, as we have not yet finalized our contract with NNPC.
“The PMS market is strictly regulated, a fact recognized by all oil marketers and stakeholders in the industry, which means we cannot set, fix, or influence the product price; this responsibility lies with the appropriate government authorities.
“We encourage the public to disregard the misleading headline, as it does not accurately reflect the situation.
“We assure Nigerians that we will provide high-quality petroleum products that will be readily available throughout the country.”
