Oil marketers want to deal directly with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery rather than buying the company’s Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC.
Dealers affiliated with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria said they had begun negotiations to assure direct purchase of petrol from the $20 billion facility rather than through NNPC.
NNPC is now the sole off-taker of PMS from the Lekki refinery. Other marketers must go through the national oil company to obtain the product from the mega refinery.
This comes as the Nigerian Economic Summit Group encouraged the Federal Government to avoid long-term monopolies in the downstream oil sector and instead assist the Dangote refinery’s growth.
IPMAN officials classified NNPC as a competitor and stated that efforts were being made to meet with Dangote Group President Alhaji Aliko Dangote or some industry management members.
While no specific date has been set for the meeting, IPMAN leaders underlined the need to buy directly from the refinery rather than from another marketer.
Terlumun James, the group’s secretary, told our correspondent on Wednesday that IPMAN, as a businessmen’s association, would prefer not to publish its business discussions but that when a final business decision is made, everyone will follow suit.
“If IPMAN is trying to meet with Dangote, we may not tell the press; we can call the press the moment we get something from Dangote reasonably. We are very serious businessmen; we are not politicians. Give us some little time; let us tidy up the business we are doing,” James replied when our correspondent sought to know IPMAN’s level of engagement with Dangote to get PMS.
However, when told that Nigerians would be interested in IPMAN because it has the most filling stations in the country, the secretary confirmed that the association is aware of this.
“We are mindful of that because, for the past years, we’ve been in crisis, and that has affected our business. So, we are just coming up and we decided to move forward, and we are planning,” he said.
On doing business with the state-owned petroleum company, James said, “NNPC is a registered company now; they are into the business with us. As far as IPMAN is concerned, NNPC is a competitor. IPMAN is being focused. Thank God you know we are planning to have a meeting with Dangote; it’s part of those things.”
Asked if the association wants to buy fuel directly from the Dangote refinery instead of waiting for the NNPC, he retorted, “NNPC is a marketer; they have a way they do their things, and IPMAN has its way. We are very focused and organised now, and we are trying to see how we can make products available to members of the public. The leadership of IPMAN is trying to ensure that our members have products because if they have, the masses will have peace of mind as they will have products to buy.”
Furthermore, the IPMAN leader spoke further: “They (Dangote officials) should deal with us; we are proudly in the market, we have the stations, and nobody has the number of stations that we command. If somebody has something, can’t you deal directly with the person? You deal with the person that has this thing. Some people who said they are selling, where are their stations? IPMAN owns the majority of the filling stations.”
In the same vein, the spokesman of IPMAN, Ukadike Chinedu, hinted that, as marketers, it is important for IPMAN to meet with Dangote as the source of PMS in Nigeria.
Chinedu said, “It is right that we meet with Dangote to discuss the interest and welfare of our marketers.”
Speaking on when the meeting is likely to be held, he said, “We don’t know yet. The issue is that, as marketers, we should also meet with the seller to know whether he can also sell to us since we are a willing buyer.”
When asked why the association is no longer interested in going through the NNPC, Chinedu remarked, “This is deregulation, which is an open market. So, there should be a willing-buyer, willing-seller relationship; that is what we are propagating. What is the essence of cutting corners when we can just go and buy from him (Dangote)?”
Chinedu, however, emphasised that the association would continue sourcing PMS from other sources, including the NNPC, if Dangote refuses to sell to IPMAN.
On their part, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, stated that the lifting of PMS by marketers directly from the Dangote refinery would create the required competition.
“Of course, we have been interfacing with officials of the Dangote refinery on the need to load petroleum products from the plant. The conversation has been ongoing, and we hope to reach a fruitful end that will be win-win for all parties.
“Accessing the product from them will deepen the competition in the space, and healthy competition is good for the downstream sector. This is why we often call for transparency in the dealings between the government through NNPC and the management of the Dangote refinery,” Gillis-Harry stated.
