The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals is considering cutting petrol supplies to major marketers that continue to import Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) into Nigeria, in a move that could reshape the country’s increasingly competitive fuel market. The proposed decision, which could take effect as early as this week, is reportedly being considered over concerns that imported petrol is being mixed with products supplied by the refinery.
Sources familiar with the development said some marketers are allegedly blending imported PMS with petrol purchased from the Dangote refinery before distributing the combined product to consumers. The refinery is concerned that such practices could make it difficult to determine the quality and origin of fuel reaching the market, potentially leaving Dangote to bear the reputational consequences of products it did not produce.
A senior official at the $20 billion Lekki-based refinery reportedly questioned the rationale behind investing heavily in producing high-quality petroleum products only for them to be mixed with imported fuel of uncertain quality. The refinery has also raised concerns about the availability of adequate laboratory and quality-control infrastructure capable of independently testing and certifying imported petroleum products entering the Nigerian market.
The latest development comes days after Dangote Refinery warned that rising petrol imports were creating excess inventory and forcing the plant to consider exporting fuel despite having enough capacity to meet domestic demand. According to the refinery, imported PMS accounted for about 43 per cent of petrol supplied to the Nigerian market in July, making it increasingly difficult to predict domestic demand and plan production effectively.
Dangote Refinery has maintained that it keeps sufficient petrol reserves to ensure steady supply to Nigerians but said holding large volumes indefinitely is becoming commercially unsustainable when imported products continue entering the market. If the proposed restriction goes ahead, it could intensify the ongoing debate over petrol imports, domestic refining capacity and the role of local refiners in meeting Nigeria’s fuel demand.
source: punch
