The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said it has no desire or intention to be the sole offtaker of petrol produced by the ?angote Refinery.
The NNPCL said this while reacting to claim by the Muslim Rights Concern, (MURIC), which claims that the ?angote Refinery Limited is being undermined by actions of the NNPC Ltd.
Recall that MURIC had, in a statement issued on Friday, claimed that recent changes to the pump price of petrol will prevent the ?angote Refinery from selling the product at lower prices to Nigerians. The group also claimed NNPC Ltd. has become the sole off-taker of all products from the refinery.
However, the NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, in a statement issued yesterday, dismissed the claims of MURIC.
While faulting MURIC’s claim, NNPCL, in the statement noted that the pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including the ?angote Refinery Ltd., is determined by global market forces.
The company therefore, noted that recent changes in PMS prices have no impact on ?angote Refinery or any other domestic refinerys access to the Nigerian market, saying: In fact, if current prices perceived as high, it presents an ideal opportunity for the refinery to sell its products at lower prices in the Nigerian market.
It said, The NNPC Ltd. will only fully offtake PMS from the DRL if the market prices of PMS are higher than the pump prices in Nigeria. The ?angote Refinery and any other domestic refinery are free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, which is the current practice for all fully deregulated products”.
The NNPCL further stated that it has no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment, and therefore, the notion of becoming a sole off-taker does not arise.
The NNPC Ltd. cannot undermine a business in which it holds a billion-dollar stake. As an advocacy group for fair and just treatment, MURIC should have verified the facts before making statements that are entirely flawed and has the potential to incite ordinary Nigerians against the NNPC Ltd, it stated.
