• Low queue as IPMAN, MEMAN say supply below expectations
• Dangote debunks shortfall claim, insists supply on track
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), yesterday, said the Dangote Refinery is unable to supply the nation with over 65 million litres of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), stressing that only 10.3 million litres have been received from the facility.
The development, The Guardian gathered, may return the country to importation to bridge the shortfall.
But the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, refuted NNPCL’s claim of shortfall.
“This is outright falsehood. We load as the trucks arrive,” Chiejina said while expressing limitations on the immediate provision of the data on what the refinery supplied the country.
Dangote Refinery was expected to provide the NNPCL with 25 million litres per day in September and 30 million litres in October. Loading started at the facility on Sunday, September 15.
The spokesperson of NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, told The Guardian that only 10.3 million litres of PMS had been received from the company.
“As of yesterday, we have received approximately 10.3 million litres. We are facing a shortfall of about 65 million litres. The plan was to receive 25 million litres per day,” Soneye said.
He disclosed that the company would decide on how to manage the shortfall.
“We must ensure energy security for the country, as this is a legal requirement under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). As a responsible company, we are committed to addressing these issues,” Soneye said.
Although fuel queues have reduced in major cities across the country as motorists battle with the high cost of up to N1,200 per litre in some cities, the Independent Marketers Association of Nigerian (IPMAN) told The Guardian that Dangote’s supply was still below par.
The National President of IPMAN, Abubakar Garima, said the supply to his members only improved slightly, adding that “this was not our expectation.”
Garima had noted that the marketers were still buying PMS at about N1,000 per litre from across depots, stressing the need for the NNPC to supply them directly.
Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) also told The Guardian that the queues were gradually clearing, but that supply needed to be improved and sustained.
MEANWHILE, The Guardian gathered that the low price of PMS, following the drop at the international market, encouraged marketers with import licence to bring in some volume of products, including PMS.
With import landing at about N900 to N1000 per litre, a marketer, who pleaded anonymity, said some marketers resorted to importing since they didn’t get supply guarantee locally because Dangote would only sell to NNPC.
A deport owner also told The Guardian that the depot owners wanted PMS, diesel and other products for all their stations and clients at the best possible price, best quality and on a level-playing field.
He said, “Once that is sorted, the sector will witness seamless operations and competition among marketers, in their efforts at delivering quality service to the driving public.
“NNPC, being the sole off-taker, does not cut depot owners off, except they do not give us product again. It simply means there’s still some element of subsidy therein, which is borne by the Federal Government and it is easier for them to tab the subsidy component if they are the sole off-taker, who will assign cargoes, via vessels, to depots.”
Amid slumping refining margins and weak fuel demand in China, two refineries in Shandong, operated by chemicals giant, Sinochem, were declared bankrupt.
Zhenghe Group Co and Shandong Huaxing Petrochemical Group Co failed to secure restructuring agreements with creditors, leading to their bankruptcy, as revealed by local courts and reported by Bloomberg.
The third refinery, Shandong Changyi Petrochemical Co, will meet creditors later this month. All three plants, with a combined capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, have been largely idled for months.
Weaker-than-expected fuel demand has impacted margins, particularly affecting independent refiners in Shandong. (Guardian)
