Low local patronage: Dangote Refinery exports 97% of products – Report
(Vanguard with Agency report)
“The conglomerate of all the importers is refusing to buy from us. It is very strange that after putting up the refinery to supply the products locally, I have to export every diesel and jet fuel because they do not want to buy from us,” Edwin said.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has said that it is forced to export 97 percent of its refined products due to low patronage by local oil marketers.
Speaking during an X space organised by Nairametrics, Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), said only three percent of local oil marketers are purchasing his company’s refined petroleum products.
His words: “The conglomerate of all the importers is refusing to buy from us. It is very strange that after putting up the refinery to supply the products locally, I have to export every diesel and jet fuel because they do not want to buy from us,” Edwin said.
“We started selling the diesel, we fixed the price, and it was lower than the prevailing market price. Then, we brought the price further down and they (marketers) wrote to the president complaining.”
Specifically, Edwin said the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) wrote to President Bola Tinubu that the price cut affected their business “due to the large inventory of imported AGO”.
“I’m selling 2 percent to 3 percent to small traders who are willing to buy, while the rest 95 to 97% I’m forced to export,” he said.
The vice-president said the refinery may also be forced to export its petrol “if they are not willing to buy”.
“But to be very frank and straightforward, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has come forward.
“They have been discussing. Although the discussion has been going on for almost three weeks and it is not yet concluded, they are working to agree with us on the quantity of crude they can sell and they said they will monitor the products.
“They are going to have a team of 10 people sitting in the refinery. They will see the crude which we are going to receive, ensuring that everything is coming into the refinery, and they would watch whether we are producing and processing everything and then, they would watch whether we are giving back all the products,” Edwin said.
