The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), in collaboration with the Dangote refinery, is working towards finalising agreements regarding the cost of petrol lifting from the refinery.
IPMAN believes this initiative will enhance the stability and efficiency of Nigeria’s fuel supply chain.
This development follows the government’s recent decision to grant the Dangote refinery and marketers the freedom to determine market prices. Last week, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) stepped back from its involvement in the operations of Dangote’s refinery. This shift allows fuel pricing to be dictated by market forces as established by the refinery and its marketers.
In an update shared on Sunday, IPMAN’s National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, expressed the group’s readiness to forge a constructive business relationship with the refinery. He mentioned their eagerness to meet with Dangote refinery executives for further discussions.
“We hope to sit down with Dangote maybe Tuesday or Wednesday and if they give us a template or price, we will move to Dangote. I want to reassure you that we have all it takes to off-take whatever Dangote will give to us. I don’t know why they are dragging their legs to discuss with marketers, maybe it is politics,” the publicity secretary stated.
“The more we take action in terms of distribution lines, the price will come down, we are not afraid of this competition, we have organised ourselves and are ready to compete because this is the survival of the fittest,” he added.
When asked about the pricing of petrol in the near future, Billy Gills-Harris, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria(PETROAN), asserted that the price of fuel may drop to N700.
The cost of petrol in Nigeria currently varies from N1000 to N1500.
“The price can be knocked down to N700 per litre; it depends on the volatility of the market and this does not always mean upward prices, it could also mean prices coming down,” the PETROAN boss stated.
“If we have massive supply and there are a lot of products in Nigeria, obviously everybody will be looking for just minimal profit. Our business is focused on turnover so that people may cut prices down,” he added.
The previous week saw reports of fuel stations belonging to independent marketers adjusting their prices, with numerous stations surpassing the N1,000 per litre mark.
In the nation’s capital, Abuja, the price of petrol at NNPC outlets went up to N1,030 per litre, while in the commercial hub of Lagos, the price went up to N998 per litre.