IPMAN commences bulk purchase of petrol from Dangote refinery, promises price drop at retail outlets
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has announced that over 30,000 of its members are prepared to purchase Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, in bulk directly from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
IPMAN disclosed that petrol from the $20 billion Lekki refinery would cost N940 per liter for shipments by sea and N990 per liter for trucked deliveries.
With this direct supply agreement, independent marketers may halt petrol imports, opting instead for sourcing from the Dangote facility.
Speaking on Channels Television, IPMAN President Abubakar Garima said pump prices at member retail outlets are expected to decrease under the new agreement.
The arrangement, which commenced on Monday, will allow IPMAN members to lift not only petrol but also diesel and other petroleum products from the refinery.
This deal follows the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s recent decision to step back from being the sole off-taker for the refinery’s 650,000 barrels per day output.
During the interview, the IPMAN national officer explained, “Presently, we have been given two different arrangments on how to buy fuel from the refinery. There is the one that we can load the vessels and carry to our various depots at the rate of N940 per litre. Then for the depots, it is at the rate of N990 per litre.
“The difference is because we have to load it and carry it to another part of the state. We use vessels to carry these products and there is another one to load from the gantry.
“For Port Harcourt, Warri, Calabar, we have to use vessels because there is no Dangote loading gantry there, we have to carry it to our private depot and discharge and distribute it to our members.”
He added, “We have the overall market in the country. We go everywhere in the country. The implication goes beyond the issue of price, but still, price is the main target.
“The masses are looking for how we, Independent Petroleum Marketers, can reduce price for them. So the price too will reduce because we are not buying through the third party.
“So the profit that we have been giving to the third party like NNPC and depot owners will be reduced. That is the issue.
“For instance, the current price in Maiduguri now is N1,200 per litre. So with these current changes, it may likely reduce to N1,150, which there is a reduction of N50. So that’s N1,150. It may even be below that.”
Garima further clarified that the NNPC has stated settling its N4bn debt owed to marketers.
“The NNPC has been paying our money back. We have been loading. Our money with them is reducing drastically. That one is not a problem for us now.
“The only thing still is that there are some remaining balances that they have not been able to pay our marketers to load the products. I spoke with the MD retail of NNPC and he told me that our balance will soon be sorted out,” Garima said.
