A convoy of trucks at the Dangote Refinery in the Ibeju-Lekki region of Lagos State commenced the transportation of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly referred to as petrol, on Sunday. Footage shared on the X account of the Dangote Group showcased the trucks, which are operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, as they began their operations.
The tweet read, “First set of trucks set for loading of PMS at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.”
Another tweet read, “NNPC begins PMS lifting at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.”
The Lekki-based facility, valued at $20 billion, features 86 gantries, allowing for the simultaneous loading of 86 trucks. During the initial phase of operations, 10 trucks entered the gantries, where their compartments were filled with petrol using a computerized system, according to reports from the Nigerian Television Authority.
The commencement of petrol loading at the Dangote facility marks the conclusion of a month-long discussion regarding the quality and sale of the product.
One significant issue that remains unresolved is the pricing at which the 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery will sell the product to oil marketers and, ultimately, to the public. In the meantime, the national oil company tweeted on Saturday that hundreds of trucks would be dispatched to the refinery on Sunday for the loading of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
The NNPC stated, “In preparation for the Dangote Refinery’s scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, September 15, 2024, NNPC Ltd has been mobilising trucks to the refinery’s fuel loading gantry in Ibeju-Lekki. As of Saturday afternoon, NNPC Ltd had deployed over 100 trucks, with hundreds more en route.”
On Friday in Abuja, the Federal Government, represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would be the exclusive buyer of petrol from the Dangote refinery. The refinery is set to begin distributing petrol to marketers on Sunday, starting with an initial allocation of 25 million liters per day. This announcement came after the national oil company stated that it was not the sole off-taker of products from the Dangote refinery and that the facility was free to sell its petrol to any marketer.
