The Dangote Petroleum Refinery says any oil marketer that sells petrol cheaper than the price it offers is importing substandard products.

In a statement on Sunday, the refinery countered claims by some oil marketers that the cost of the product is higher than that of the imported petrol.

On November 1, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said petrol — also known as premium motor spirit (PMS) — from the refinery was more expensive than buying from other sources.

Yakubu Suleiman, national assistant secretary of IPMAN, speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show programme, said the group’s members go for more affordable options at other depots across Nigeria than the high logistical costs associated with buying petrol from the Dangote refinery.

Therefore, the oil marketers vowed to import the commodity and sell it below the Dangote refinery price as well as the price being sold by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

Responding to these claims, the refinery said its ex-depot price of petrol is N990 per litre for trucks and N960 per litre for ships.

The firm said that the prices are benchmarked against the international prices and the amount the NNPC sold to local marketers.

“We had lately refrained from engaging in media fights but we are constrained to respond to the recent misinformation being circulated by IPMAN, PETROAN, and other associations,” the statement reads.

“Both organisations claim that they can import PMS at lower prices than what is being sold by the Dangote Refinery. We benchmark our prices against international prices and we believe our prices are competitive relative to the price of imports.

“If anyone claims they can land PMS at a price cheaper than what we are selling, then they are importing substandard products and conniving with international traders to dump low quality products into the country, without concern for the health of Nigerians or the longevity of their vehicles.

“Unfortunately, the regulator (NMDPRA) does not even have laboratory facilities which can be used to detect substandard products when imported into the country.”

‘INTERNATIONAL TRADING COMPANY TO BLEND SUBSTANDARD PRODUCTS IN NIGERIA’

The refinery also alleged that an international trading company is planning to blend substandard products close to its plant.

“…an international trading company has recently hired a depot facility next to the Dangote Refinery, with the objective of using it to blend substandard products that will be dumped into the market to compete with Dangote Refinery’s higher quality production,” the company said.

“This is detrimental to the growth of domestic refining in Nigeria. We should point out that it is not unusual for countries to protect their domestic industries in order to provide jobs and grow the economy.

“For example, the US and Europe have had to impose high tariffs on EVs and microchips in order to protect their domestic industries.”

The company said it is committed to providing affordable, good-quality, domestically refined petroleum products for Nigerians.

The refinery called on the public to ignore “deliberate disinformation being spread by those who favour Nigeria continuing to export jobs and import poverty”.

The Cable