The speculated price attributed to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria is predicated on the belief that the $20bn refinery would crash the price of petrol if it gets crude supply support from the Federal Government.
Petrol currently sells at ₦700/litre at many independent marketers’ stations while the official price from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is around ₦570/litre.
IPMAN believes it is not outrageous if Dangote Refinery sells the product between ₦600 and ₦650/litre.
However, in a statement sent to Pulse Nigeria on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, the refinery dismissed the speculated price, saying IPMAN is neither its business partner nor its mouthpiece.
The company also urged the public to disregard “such speculative announcements,” stressing it has never discussed the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) with petrol marketers.
The statement reads, “Our attention has been drawn to headlines announcing “Marketers Project ₦600/litre for Dangote Petrol” published in Punch Newspapers of Tuesday, August 13, 2024.
“We would like to clarify that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) is not our business partner yet. We have never discussed price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) with them, and they have no mandate or authority to speak for us, either for good or with hidden transcript.
“We urge the public to desist from such speculative announcements. We have our official channels through which we make our views known to our stakeholders.”
While Nigerians await petrol from Dangote Refinery to hit the market, the company in July promised to begin petrol rollout in August having resolved its crude supply issue.
President of the Dangote Refinery, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, disclosed this while taking senior journalists on a guided tour of the facility located at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos on Sunday, July 14, 2024.
According to him, Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) played a crucial role in resolving the crude supply issue that had lingered for a while.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has directed the NNPCL to sell crude to Dangote Refinery and other upcoming refineries in naira.
According to the presidency, the move is to ensure the stability of the pump price of refined fuel.
