It is official! Petroleum marketers can now buy premium motor spirit or petrol directly from Dangote Refinery.
This is because the Federal Government has formally granted permission to the marketers to lift petrol directly from the Dangote refinery without going through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL.
Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Naira-crude sale implementation committee, Wale Edun, made the clarification in a statement on Friday even as he gave an update on the takeoff of crude purchase and product sales in naira transactions.
The clarification by Edun, also the Supervising Minister of the Economy, removed all doubts from the speculations that had been making the rounds that the NNPCL will no longer be the sole off-taker of the Dangote fuel
The confirmation of the NNPCL new status is a byproduct of the second post-commencement review meeting of the Implementation Committee held on Friday, October 10.
The meeting was called to evaluate the progress of the Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in naira initiative of the Tinubu Administration.
Here are excerpts from the statement: “The committee is pleased to report a successful transition of operations in line with the directive issued by the Federal Executive Council. This directive has established a robust framework for local production and distribution of crude oil and refined products for local consumption in naira.
“With this mechanism now in full operation, along with the commencement of local production, we are well-positioned to transition to a fully deregulated market for all petroleum products.
“Moving forward, petroleum product marketers are now able to purchase PMS directly from local refineries without the intermediary role of NNPC. Marketers are encouraged to initiate direct purchases from refineries on mutually negotiated commercial terms, which will promote competition and improve market efficiency.”