Major petroleum product marketers in Nigeria have reportedly inked a deal with prominent global petrol suppliers to import cheaper products that will sell below Ɗangote and NNPCL retail outlets.
According to reports, the deal will see the marketers selling petrol at about ₦700 per litre, far cheaper than what is obtained at NNPCL and Ɗangote Refinery partner stations.
Recall that it was earlier reported that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN), asked the Ɗangote Refinery to lower its petrol prices below ₦800 per litre. IPMAN’s publicity secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, had said that the current ex-depot price offered by the refinery is still high, given the current market dynamics. He predicted that the product would sell below ₦700 per litre if the Naira appreciated to ₦1,100 per dollar.
Meanwhile, sources were quoted as saying that the new deal with foreign suppliers will see petrol landing costs crash to ₦650 per litre.
The report said that marketers are already positioning themselves and their businesses to thrive with alternative product sourcing. National president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, said marketers are seeking to procure products from international sources.
According to him, the move is a survival tactic for the marketers, as Ɗangote Refinery’s incessant price adjustments have crumbled their businesses. *We want refineries to work and give us supply; then, we import when their products are high, and depot owners will keep their depot open while marketers will have open market operations”, he said.
The PETROAN boss warned that queues may return to petrol stations if the situation is not properly managed, saying the products he procured from Ɗangote Refinery are becoming bad business, on the grounds that the incessant petrol price crash by the refinery is affecting their profit margin.
According to him, marketers are losing the market to the mega refinery, saying that they are engaging their foreign partners to import petrol at an affordable rate. He further revealed that there may be a scarcity of diesel due to the shutdown of the Aradel Refinery, which currently processes 11,000 barrels per day at Ogbele.
