The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Africa’s largest oil refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is gearing up to start selling Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol. The move comes shortly after the refinery successfully completed a test-run of its production, signaling its readiness to supply the Nigerian market.
According to industry sources, the refinery is in the final stages of working out the distribution details with the Federal Government. Currently, only the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) will be authorized to sell the refinery’s petrol, as government officials continue to finalize the distribution plan.
Earlier, the refinery’s petrol was expected to be available by June, but delays occurred due to crude oil shortages and conflicts with regulatory bodies. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority had accused the refinery of producing substandard diesel, further delaying operations.
However, with the Federal Government’s intervention allowing crude oil to be supplied in local currency, production is now back on track.
Tensions have risen between the Dangote Group and international oil companies (IOCs), with Dangote and other local refineries accusing the IOCs of prioritizing foreign markets over local ones. The Dangote Group also criticized the IOCs for selling crude oil through foreign agents at inflated prices, arguing that local refineries should have direct access to crude produced in Nigeria.
There has also been a back-and-forth between the Dangote Group and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) over crude supply figures.
The NUPRC claims it facilitated the supply of over 29 million barrels of crude to the Dangote refinery from January to June 2024, but Dangote Group’s spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina, stated that the refinery has yet to receive these allocations. Chiejina stressed that the refinery has so far purchased most of its crude through international traders and has only received one crude cargo facilitated by the NUPRC.
