The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN), has secured an agreement with ?angote Refinery to lift products directly.
IPMAN’s National President, Abubakar Garima, announced this in Abuja yesterday, after a meeting of the National Working Committee of the association. He said the partnership will ensure steady, and affordable supply of PMS products nationwide.
According to Girima, after meeting with Aliko ?angote and his management team in Lagos, were pleased to announce that ?angote Refinery has agreed to supply IPMAN with PMS, AGO, and DPK directly for distribution to our depots and retail outlets.
Garima urged IPMAN members to support ?angote Refinery, citing backward integration benefits and positive impacts on Nigerias foreign exchange market.
Regarding pricing, Garima expressed confidence that negotiations with ?angote would yield lower rates.
On Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the IPMAN President said the association is preparing for a seamless transition to CNG refill stations nationwide, adding that it is currently negotiating with the presidential CNG initiative. This partnership is expected to increase efficiency, affordability, and economic growth for Nigerias petroleum industry.
At the meeting the ?angote Refinery, pledged to commence supply of products to over 30,000 IPMAN members and 150,000 retail outlets nationwide. This move is expected to eliminate middlemen, reduce costs, and ensure steady supply.
Earlier, IPMAN had expressed frustration at how difficult marketers were finding it to lift products from the ?angote Refinery.
IPMAN lamented that its members cant load petrol from the ?angote Refinery in Lagos despite having paid ?40bn to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL). However, ?angote Refinery refuted the claim by IPMAN, clarifying that it has not received any payments from IPMAN to purchase refined petroleum products.
It stated that although discussions are ongoing with IPMAN, it is misleading to suggest that they (IPMAN members) are experiencing difficulties loading refined products from our petroleum refinery, as we currently have no direct business dealings with them.
Consequently, the company said it cannot be held responsible for any payments made to other entities, as the payment in mention has been made through NNPCL, and not Dangote Refinery. It added that, “In the same vein, NNPCL has neither approved, nor authorised the company to release our Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to IPMAN”.
While emphasising that it can meet Nigerias demand for all petroleum products, Dangote Refinery advised IPMAN to register directly with the company and make payments for petroleum products.
