At least 300 trucks belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) are currently stationed at the Dangote Refinery, preparing for the scheduled loading of petrol on Sunday.
Olufemi Soneye, spokesperson for the NNPCL, confirmed this in a video posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday. He reported that, as of Saturday afternoon, the NNPCL had already deployed over 100 trucks, with hundreds more en route.
Earlier, the Presidential Committee on the Sale of Crude Oil and Refined Products announced that the first batch of petrol from the Dangote Refinery would be loaded on Sunday, September 15. Zacch Adedeji, Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and a member of the committee, disclosed this information during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday.
Adedeji also revealed that starting from October 1, the NNPCL will begin supplying approximately 385,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to the Dangote Refinery, which will be paid for in Naira.
“I am pleased to announce that all agreements have been finalized, and the loading of the first batch of PMS (petrol) from the Dangote Refinery will begin on Sunday, September 15,” Adedeji said.
He further explained that the Dangote Refinery will supply petrol and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market in exchange for crude oil, all transactions to be settled in Naira.
The committee also finalized agreements that will allow the Dangote Refinery to sell diesel in Naira to any interested off-taker, while petrol will be exclusively sold to the NNPCL. The NNPCL will then distribute it to various marketers. All related regulatory fees will also be paid in Naira.
These measures are expected to ease the severe petrol shortages across the country and may help bring down the skyrocketing fuel prices.
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