Several trucks at the Dangote Refinery, located in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State, began lifting Premium Motor Spirit, known as petrol, on Sunday.
The trucks, belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), were seen in videos posted on the X handle of the Dangote Group.
The tweet reads, “First set of trucks set for loading of PMS at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.”
Another tweet reads, “NNPC begins PMS lifting at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.”
The $20 billion Lekki plant has 86 gates, allowing 86 vehicles to be loaded at the same time.
The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) reports that at the outset of the loading, ten trucks drove onto gantries while their compartments were filled with PMS using a computerised device.
The loading of Dangote petrol marks the end of a month-long discussion over the product’s purity and sale.
However, one significant issue remains unresolved: the price at which the 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery will sell the product to oil marketers and, eventually, the general public.
Meanwhile, the NNPC announced that hundreds of trucks would be deployed to the refinery today (Sunday) for PMS loading.
The NNPC stated, “In preparation for the Dangote Refinery’s scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, September 15, 2024, NNPC Ltd. has been mobilising trucks to the refinery’s fuel loading gantry in Ibeju-Lekki. As of Saturday afternoon, NNPC Ltd. had deployed over 100 trucks, with hundreds more en route.”
