Dangote refinery, IPMAN reach agreement to lift petrol, diesel directly

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) says an agreement has been made with Dangote Petroleum Refinery to lift premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, and diesel directly.

Abubakar Garima, national president of IPMAN, spoke on Monday after a meeting of the national working committee of the association in Abuja.

Garima said the partnership will ensure a steady, affordable supply of PMS products nationwide.

“After meeting with Aliko Dangote and his management team in Lagos, we’re pleased to announce that Dangote Refinery has obliged IPMAN to lift PMS, AGO and DPK directly for onward supply to IPMAN depots and retail outlets,” he said.

“That the Dangote Refinery That this new arrangement with the Dangote Refinery will ensure steady and ceaseless supply of PMS products all over Nigeria, at an affordable rate for Nigerians also.”

The IPMAN president also urged members to support the Dangote refinery, citing backward integration benefits and positive impacts on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.

“IPMAN members should rely on Dangote Refinery and Nigerian Refineries for white products, creating more job opportunities and supporting President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda,” he added.

‘NEGOTIATION WITH DANGOTE REFINERY WILL LEAD TO LOWER PRICES’

Regarding pricing, Garima said he is confident that negotiations with Dangote would yield lower rates.

On compressed natural gas (CNG), Garima said the association is preparing for a seamless transition to CNG refill stations nationwide.

“I would also like to call on all our members at IPMAN to begin to put all machineries in place for a successful transition of the Federal Government’s plans to initiate CNG refill stations in all our outlets,” he said.

“Truly there is no doubt that CNG has the potential to rejuvenate our economy for a better life for Nigerians, and IPMAN is ready to give her all to support the CNG initiative.

“We are also calling for a partnership with the federal government of Nigeria to hasten the quick success of the CNG initiative for Nigeria.

“We believe that for the CNG initiative to succeed, there must be a credible partnership between IPMAN and the PCNGI, without which Nigerians would not have ready and near access to CNG outlets.”

On October 29, Aliko Dangote, founder of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), said the refinery currently holds over 500 million litres of petrol, but oil marketers are not buying the product.

In a counter-response, the IPMAN said its members had been unable to load petrol from the Dangote refinery for days.

Garima had said the association paid N40 billion to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, but still cannot source the product – but the refinery said it has not received any payment from the IPMAN for refined petroleum products.

The controversy, however, did not end there, Yakubu Suleiman, national assistant secretary of IPMAN, in an interview on Arise Television on November 1, said it is more expensive to buy petrol from the Dangote refinery than other places.

Suleiman said 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, Dangote refinery said its ex-depot price of petrol was set at N990 per litre for sale into trucks, and N960 for ships, adding that any oil marketer that sells petrol cheaper than the price it offers is importing substandard products.

But marketers rejected the claim, saying that they never sold substandard products.