Oil marketers, under the umbrella of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), have rejected claims by the Dangote refinery suggesting that cheaper petrol sold by other marketers is substandard.
On November 3, the Dangote refinery stated that any oil marketer offering petrol below its price is likely importing inferior products.
The refinery emphasized that its prices are aligned with international benchmarks and the rates at which the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited sells to local marketers after deregulation.
In response, DAPPMAN’s executive secretary, Olufemi Adewole, issued a statement on Tuesday, asserting that none of the association’s members are involved in the importation of low-quality products into Nigeria.
“We have said this for the umpteenth time, and it bears repeating, those in the downstream sector business of petroleum products trade are patriotic Nigerians who will not shortchange Nigerian citizens for filthy lucre,” Adewole said.
“Our members are in this business to add value to the businesses of their fellow Nigerians and not to defraud them.
“Prices of products in the international market are dynamic as they are dictated by prevailing circumstances at every given situation. We calculate our landing costs based on the dynamics of market forces, and the templates are always in the public domain.
“To claim that if the landing cost of imported product happens to be lower than that of the refinery indicates importation of low quality product is not only preposterous, but also fallacious. In any case, the management of the refinery has, until now, kept its cost and prices close to its chest and put it away from public scrutiny.”
Adewole said the refinery’s comment is targeted at projecting DAPPMAN’s members negatively before the public.
He also said such claims cannot help the company’s desire to have oil marketers patronise its products.
“What will ensure such patronage is transparency, fairplay, and readiness to compete with others, including foreign refineries, on an even keel and on a level playing field,” he added.
The DAPPMAN executive secretary said the company’s claim that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) does not have a modern laboratory to test imported fuel is false.
“A regulator must have access to modern, state of the art laboratory at every point in time, whether owned by it or others. Such laboratories must be of world standard,” he said.
“The regulator, and indeed, the marketers, have access to such world-class laboratories, which include: SGS, Inspectorate, and Interterk, among others.
“If fuel marketers were bringing in off-spec fuel, this wouldn’t have been difficult to detect. How many vehicles in the last one year have reported engine problems resulting from bad fuel? Where are the reports about environmental pollution occasioned by the usage of low quality fuel?
“It is a false statement to claim that any product brought in with a landing price lower than the price offered by the Dangote Refinery is a substandard product.
“It is the management of the refinery that will need to tweak its template to reflect the crude for naira sales and other incentives which the federal government has graciously extended to the refinery.”
Adewole also said the members were surprised to know that the refinery has a 500 million litres fuel reserve.
“We were surprised because we believe that if the Refinery has such huge stock, it is the marketers that should be put in the know first,” the executive secretary said.
“Secondly, it was even more surprising given that the news came about the time the refinery was working on rationing what each marketer could pick from the refinery. If they had such huge stock, how is it then that they are rationing what marketers could buy.”
Adewole said the association will continue to play by the rules and will not be tired of advocating for a level playing field, and a competitive and transparent sector.
BIG STORY4 days ago
BIG STORY5 days ago
BIG STORY5 days ago
BIG STORY5 days ago
BIG STORY4 days ago
BIG STORY3 days ago
BIG STORY3 days ago
BIG STORY4 days ago