The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has issued a fresh rebuttal to the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), standing by its published statement and rejecting what it describes as a demand for a N1.505 trillion subsidy from oil marketers.
The refinery’s management, in a press release on Tuesday, clarified its position following a publication by DAPPMAN in multiple national newspapers on Monday, September 15.
At the heart of the dispute is a demand by marketers that the refinery absorb massive coastal logistics costs to allow them to sell petroleum products at the same price at their Apapa depots as at the refinery’s gantry in Lekki.
According to a detailed breakdown provided by the refinery, DAPPMAN is demanding a discount of N70 per litre for coastal freight and other operations costs, plus an additional N5 per litre for the cost of pumping products into vessels. This would amount to a total of N75 per litre in additional costs absorbed by Dangote.
Based on Nigeria’s projected daily consumption of 40 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and 15 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), the refinery calculated that this demand translates to a staggering annual cost of N1,505,625,000,000 (N1.505 trillion).
“We wish to make it clear that we have no intention of increasing our gantry price to accommodate such demands, nor are we willing to pay a subsidy of over N1.5 trillion, a practice that historically defrauded the Federal Government for many years,” the statement read.
The company positioned this demand as a throwback to the controversial subsidy regime, effectively asking the refinery to “absorb and pass it on to Nigerian Consumers.”
Instead, Dangote Petroleum Refinery offered an alternative: marketers are welcome to purchase products directly from the refinery’s gantry and benefit from its “logistics-free initiative,” thereby avoiding the coastal freight costs entirely.
The statement also took aim at the practice of importing refined products, noting that between June and September, the refinery exported 3.2 million metric tonnes of refined products while marketers imported 3.6 million metric tonnes over the same period. It called this importation “an action that amounts to dumping which is detrimental to the Nigerian economy and the well-being of its citizens.”
Reaffirming its commitment to national development, the refinery stated its total support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reform initiatives, citing its efforts to stabilize the Naira, cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal, and position Nigeria as a refining hub.
The company ended with a legal challenge, stating, “We wish to emphasise that any party who feels aggrieved by the contents of the publication is entitled to seek redress through the appropriate legal channels, without recourse to any so-called seven-day notice. We are fully prepared to defend our position.”
Dangote Petroleum Refinery remains a pivotal player in Nigeria’s energy sector, boasting sufficient capacity to meet domestic demand and maintain a closing stock of 500 million litres of refined products each month.
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