Kindly leave a comment and share
Chuks Udo Okonta
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has said it has no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity, including the Dangote Refinery Limited (DRL) in a free market environment and therefore, the notion of becoming a sole offtaker does not arise.
A statement by Chief Corporate Communications Officer NNPC Limited Olufemi Soneye, said this while responding to a press release by the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), which claims that the Dangote Refinery Limited is being undermined by actions of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
According to him, MURIC asserted that recent changes to the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) will prevent the Dangote Refinery from offering lower prices and that NNPC Ltd has become the sole offtaker of all products from the refinery.
Setting the records straight, NNPC Ltd stated that the pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including the Dangote Refinery Ltd, is determined by global market forces.
It noted that the recent changes in PMS prices have no impact on the DRL or any other domestic refinery’s access to the Nigerian market, adding that in fact, if current prices are perceived as high, it presents an ideal opportunity for the refinery to sell its products at lower prices in the Nigerian market.
Furthermore, it emphasize that there is no guarantee of lower prices associated with domestic refining compared to any global parity pricing framework, as confirmed by the DRL.
The NNPC Ltd said it would only fully offtake PMS from the DRL if the market prices of PMS are higher than the pump prices in Nigeria, stating that the DRL and any other domestic refinery are free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, which is the current practice for all fully deregulated products.
The NNPC Ltd cannot undermine a business in which it holds a billion-dollar stake, it said.
NNPC limited submitted that as an advocacy group for fair and just treatment, MURIC should have verified the facts before making statements that are entirely flawed and has the potential to incite ordinary Nigerians against the NNPC Ltd.
