By Abiola Olawale
The face-off between the Dangote Refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man and business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and Nigerian oil marketers has continued to escalate.
This is as three oil marketers, AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, have approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order to import Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol.
The three oil marketers, in a joint affidavit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, and dated November 5, 2024, made this prayer while responding to an originating summon filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical.
Dangote refinery in its originating summon dated September 6, 2024, had sued Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited as 1st to 7th defendants respectively.
The refinery petitioned the court to declare that NMDPRA has contravened Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by granting licenses for the importation of petroleum products.
The refinery asserts that such licenses should only be issued under conditions where there is a demonstrable shortfall of petroleum products.
Furthermore, it has requested the court to affirm that NMDPRA is neglecting its statutory obligations under the PIA by failing to promote the interests of local refineries, including the applicant company.
In their response to the suit, the three oil marketers urged the court to dismiss the suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.
The marketers, in a joint counter-affidavit, argued that granting the application of refinery would spell doom for the country’s oil sector.
They argued that they are well qualified and entitled to be issued an import license by NMDPRA to import petroleum products in Nigeria within the meaning of Section 317(9) of the PIA.
They also noted that they are fully qualified for the issuance of the import licenses issued to them by the 1st defendant, as they duly met all the legal requirements for the issuance of such import licenses before the same was issued to them.
They stated in the affidavit: “The import licenses lawfully and validly issued to the defendants did not, in any way whatsoever, cripple the plaintiff’s business or its refinery.
“The import licenses issued to the defendants by the 1st defendant are in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, and other relevant laws.”
The New Diplomat reports that following the production of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, by the Dangote refinery, there has been a huge debate between oil marketers and the company.
On November 1, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said petrol from the refinery is purportedly more expensive than buying from other sources.
The National Assistant Secretary of the IPMAN, Yakubu Suleiman, who spoke with the press 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.
However, in a press statement issued on Monday, Dangote refinery rejected the claim, saying the price of its petrol is far cheaper than the imported ones.
The company said its ex-depot price of petrol is N990 per liter for trucks and N960 per liter for ships.
Dangote refinery said its prices are benchmarked against the international prices and the amount the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited sold to local marketers.
The refinery also added that any oil marketer that sells petrol cheaper than the price it offers is importing substandard products.
