"Estimated Pump Price in Lagos" is N950.22, the document states.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has estimated that N950 is the selling price in Lagos for petrol sourced from the Dangote refinery. The NNPC also estimated the selling price in Abuja to be N992 and the selling price in Maiduguri to be N1,019.
Overall, the selling price increases based on the closeness to Lagos where the Dangote refinery is based.
The state oil firm disclosed these in an early Monday statement by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye.
"Attached to this statement are the estimated pump prices of PMS (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) across NNPC Retail Stations in the country, based on September 2024 pricing," the statement said.
A PREMIUM TIMES review of the statement shows that NNPC Ltd said it paid Dangote refinery N898.78 per litre for the product, NMDPRA (downstream regulator) fee is N8.99, 'Inspection fee' is N0.97, 'Distribution Cost (Lagos)' is N15, while 'Margin', which can be described as NNPC's profit on each litre, is N26.48.
"Estimated Pump Price in Lagos" is N950.22, the document states.
The estimated pump price for Lagos at NNPC stations is higher than the current pump price at NNPC stations in the commercial city, which is less than N900. The estimated selling prices at NNPC outlets in other states is also higher than the prevailing prices.
Since NNPC is the sole buyer of petrol from Dangote refinery and is expected to sell the product to other marketers, it also indicates that the marketers would buy from the NNPC at about the N950 new price.
Already, many independent marketers across Nigeria sell the product above N1,000 per litre.
Before the commencement of petrol production by Dangote refinery and its sale to NNPC, which began on Sunday, virtually all of Nigeria's petrol was imported by the NNPC, which then sold to other marketers.
This put a strain on Nigeria's forex and contributed to the depreciation of the naira.
The petrol import was also not transparent amidst allegations of fraud and importation of substandard products.
NNPC suggested in its Monday statement that it plans to be transparent with the purchase and sale of the petrol sourced from Dangote refinery.
In the meantime, NNPC would still need to import some petrol to augment the volume produced by the Dangote refinery.
However, the Dangote refinery, owned by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote, is expected to eventually produce enough petrol for Nigeria's local consumption.
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Oil and gas experts had told PREMIUM TIMES that Nigerians should not expect that the price of petrol would be lower just because it is refined in the country as the price would still be determined by market forces. However, the refinery would ensure the availability of the product in the country, they said.
September payment in dollars
In its statement, NNPC Ltd confirmed an earlier statement by the Dangote refinery that it is paying the refinery in dollars for September, as Naira transactions will only commence on 1 October.
"The NNPC Ltd also wishes to state that, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), PMS prices are not set by the government, but negotiated directly between parties on an arm's length.
"The NNPC Ltd can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on 1st October 2024." Mr Soneye wrote.
This indicates that NNPC Ltd paid the dollar equivalent of N898.78 for each litre to Dangote refinery.
However, purchase would be done in naira from October, same as sale of crude to Dangote, as directed by President Bola Tinubu.
NNPC Ltd also insisted on its purchase price following an earlier rebuttal by Dangote refinery that the N898.78 stated by NNPC is "misleading and mischievous."
The NNPC Ltd assured that if the quoted pricing is disputed, it will be grateful for any discount from the Dangote Refinery, which will be passed on 100 per cent to the general public.
