By Abiola Olawale
Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has announced that the supply date for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol has been postponed from June to the third week of July.
Africa’s richest man, business mogul and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the refinery, Aliko Dangote, made this known on Monday.
The businessman, who was speaking while receiving a Senate delegation led by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, attributed the postponement to a slight delay in operational set back but assured the public that from the third week in July, the premium commodity would be pushed into the market.
He said: “We had a bit of delay but PMS will start coming out by the 10th, or 15th of July but then we want to keep it in the tank to make it settle. By the third week of July, we will be able to sell it in the market.”
The New Diplomat reports that the refinery sited in Lagos had commenced operations last December with 350,000 barrels a day.
Though the refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country, it is yet to supply fuel.
When in full operation, the Dangote refinery is expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
Oil marketers have also expressed optimism that the price of petrol would drop significantly when Dangote Refinery start supplying the product.
The price of fuel is expected to be lower than the current retail prices of the imported refined product which range from N568 to N700 depending on the part of the country.
