Oil Marketers Buy 518,500 MT Of AGO, Jet A1 From Dangote Refinery In 5 Months

Petroleum Marketers have lifted 518,500 metric tons of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Jet A1 from Dangote Refinery (DR), representing 60 per cent of national truck-out in five months.

This is contained in a statement issued on Saturday by the Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Mr Olufemi Adewole.

This is contrary to comments credited to Dangote Refinery indicating that local Petroleum Marketers were yet to patronise its Refinery.

The Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar V.G. Edwin had alleged that marketers were not patronizing Dangote Refinery’s products.

Edwin spoke during an X (formerly Twitter) space hosted by Nairametrics.

He claimed that despite the refinery’s efforts to supply affordable petroleum products, many traders in Nigeria have refused to purchase from the refinery, preferring to continue importing refined products from abroad.

He said that despite the refinery’s large production capacity, local marketers are only purchasing about 3% of the products.

According to him, the remaining 97% of the refinery’s production, including diesel and jet fuel, is being exported due to the alleged boycott by local traders who allegedly refuse to buy at the refinery’s prices.

Edwin said: “The whole purpose of doing this refinery in Nigeria was to utilize our local crude instead of exporting raw materials and importing finished products.

“We should be able to refine and use the finished products within Nigeria and produce more to export the surplus.”

But according to DAPPMAN’s statement, documents sourced from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Independent local marketers, including Asharami, MRS Oil and Gas, AA Rano, Rainoil, Prudent, NIPCO, Aym Shafa and Danmarna, among many others, have patronised Dangote Refinery over the past months, a development the marketers say reinforces their commitment to ensuring seamless access to petroleum products across the nation.

Further analysis of the transactions which occurred between April and September, 2024 showed marketers lifted 489,500 MT of AGO and 29, 000 MT of Jet A1 distributed across various Nigerian ports, with 17 AGO shipments to Lagos, 6 to Warri, 2 to Port Harcourt, and 1 to Calabar. All three Jet A1 shipments were discharged in Lagos.

The marketers, however, said the lack of clarity surrounding the availability of Dangote Refinery’s Premium Motor Spirit (also known as petrol), remained a stumbling block to patronage within the local market.

According to Adewole, Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the sector needs to operate transparently in a manner that gives all stakeholders the opportunity to thrive and contribute significantly to the quest of ensuring “availability, reliability and accessibility of petroleum products nation-wide.”

Adewole said the alleged boycott of Dangote Refinery’s PMS was incorrect as petroleum marketers were still awaiting clearance from the government on the modalities regarding the offtake of PMS from the refinery.

He said: “DAPPMAN as evidenced by patronage of various products from the Dangote Refinery by its members believes firmly in meeting Nigeria’s energy needs, and remains aligned to calls for the nation not to end up in a monopoly, which will only jeopardise our economic growth and development.”

Adewole noted that DAPPMAN and other marketers had consistently stated that the trading of petroleum products globally rests on the critical issues of price and quality.

“Offtake will, in keeping with the laws of demand and supply, gravitate towards sources where products can be bought at a lower price, better quality and seamless accessibility,” he stated.

He reassured Nigerians that DAPPMAN would continue to work assiduously towards giving the nation top-notch fuel solutions, whilst securing the sustainability of the sector.