The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has announced that the $20 billion Dangote Refinery in Lagos will begin supplying the Nigerian market with 25 million litres of petrol daily starting September. By October, this figure is expected to increase to 30 million litres per day.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the NMDPRA revealed that during a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, an agreement was reached between the regulator and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to commence crude oil sales and supply to the Dangote Refinery in local currency.
“The refinery is now poised to supply an initial 25 million litres of PMS into the domestic market this September, and will subsequently increase this amount to 30 million litres daily from October 2024,” the statement read.
This development comes after more than a year since the Dangote Refinery was launched in May 2023. On Tuesday, the refinery successfully rolled out its first batch of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from its expansive facility located in the Lekki area of Lagos State.
Meanwhile, the pump price of petrol at NNPCL outlets nationwide has surged from approximately ₦600 to over ₦900 per litre.
Aliko Dangote, the refinery’s owner and billionaire businessman, confirmed that once final arrangements with the NNPCL are completed, the refinery’s products will be released into the market.
“As soon as we finalise with the NNPCL, our product will start going into the market,” Dangote stated. He emphasized the broader economic impact of the refinery, noting, “We will help to restore industry and manufacturing. We will begin real import substitution, saving foreign exchange, earning foreign exchange, which will stabilize the naira, and it will also help bring down inflation and the cost of living.”
When asked about the pricing of petrol from his refinery, Dangote explained, “It is an arrangement which is designed and approved by the Federal Executive Council led by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As soon as it is finalised, which he (Tinubu) is pushing, once we finish with NNPC, it can be today, it can be tomorrow, we are ready to roll into the market.”
