Petroleum Marketers Complained To Tinubu That Our Diesel Price Is Too Cheap – Dangote

Petroleum product marketers in Nigeria reportedly wrote to President Bola Tinubu to complain about the N900 per litre price of Dangote Refinery’s diesel, which is harming their businesses.

Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, made the announcement during a Nairametrics-organized Twitter Spaces event.

“Petroleum product marketers in Nigeria have written to President Bola Tinubu to complain that the refinery local prices which have dropped from N1,200 to N1,000 and now N900 per litre are impacting their businesses negatively,” he said.

Edwin discussed some of the Dangote Refinery’s issues, as well as the influence on Nigeria’s petroleum supplies and prices.

According to him, the refinery only sells roughly 29 tankers of diesel per day due to poor demand from local petroleum product importers.

“As a result of this poor local patronage, the refinery exports most of its diesel and aviation fuel,” he said.

Edwin has previously stated that Dangote Refinery products will be exported if the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and other petroleum dealers in the country refused to patronise it.

“We have been exporting aviation fuel, we have been producing kerosene, we have been producing diesel, but yesterday, we started the production of PMS. So, that was the last stage. The only thing now left out is petrochemicals.”

“So, the good news for the country is we have started producing PMS from our refinery,” he had said on a radio programme.

Asked if the petrol would be sold locally, Edwin replied, “Well, I explained how there has been a kind of a blockade from lifting our products within the country. The traders have been trying to block (it), and so now we have been exporting our petroleum products. PMS, we are ready to pump in as much as possible to the country.

“But if the traders or NNPC are not buying the product, obviously, we will end up exporting the PMS as we are doing with the aviation jet and diesel,” he said.

Edwin bemoaned the fact that, when the refinery was about to start up, Dangote Refinery encountered unexpected difficulties.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli