By Abiola Olawale
The Dangote Refinery, owned by Africa’s Richest individual and renowned business magnate, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has provided a reassuring commitment to the Nigerian populace following reports of a hike in the pump price of petrol.
The refinery has announced that three of its key partners will be offering petrol for ₦970 per litre across the country.
This pledge comes on the heels of a recent adjustment in the refinery’s ex-depot petrol prices, which has raised concerns among consumers.
A spokesman for the refinery, Anthony Chiejina, said the recent adjustment in the company’s ex-depot price “is directly related to the significant increase in global crude oil prices”.
In a statement on Sunday, Chiejina said, “While we have made a 5% adjustment to our ex-depot price from N899.50 to N950 per litre, it is important to note that this increase is considerably lower than the 15% rise in global crude oil prices, which has seen Brent Crude rise from $70 to $82 in a matter of days, in addition to the premium for Nigerian crude (approximately $3 per barrel) in international markets.
“Furthermore, Dangote Refinery has maintained the Single-Point Mooring (SPM) ex-vessel price at N895 per litre.
“All our partners, including Ardova, Heyden, and MRS Holdings, will offer petrol to Nigerians at a retail price of N970 per litre nationwide. We have absorbed the increased logistics costs to guarantee uniform pricing across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).”
Chiejina said Dangote Refinery has absorbed approximately 50% of the cost increases in the international oil market. “If Dangote Refinery were to pass on the entire increase in the price of crude oil to the market, the retail price of PMS would be approximately N1,150 to N1,200 per litre in some locations, compared to the current price of N970 per litre,” he said.
The company’s spokesman said in the interest of transparency and good governance, Dangote Refinery would commence publishing its ex-depot price, ex-vessel price as well as pump price every week so that consumers are not exploited.
