Dangote Refinery Effect: 3 Marketers Import 141m Litres Petrol

3 Oil Marketers Import 141m Litres of Petrol Amid Dangote Refinery Launch

“The regulators, such as the NMDPRA, have to look at the quality, flash points and so many other things that should be taken into consideration...”

Nigeria's fuel landscape shifts - 141m litres petrol imported, strict testing applied.

Three major oil marketers expect petrol shipments this week, pending no delays. Vessels carrying 141 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) are en route to Nigeria.

This importation follows the Federal Government's full deregulation of the downstream oil sector. The move comes amid recent petrol price hikes, partly driven by supplies from Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced on September 16 that the new prices would facilitate increased petrol imports.

A major marketer confirmed Nigeria's downstream oil sector deregulation on September 17. Three dealers await petrol shipments this week, with each vessel carrying approximately 35,000 metric tonnes.

The total expected volume is 105,000 metric tonnes, equivalent to about 141 million litres, based on the 1,341 litres per metric tonne conversion rate.

“Most marketers often import three parcels for this kind of transaction and the lowest parcel is about 35,000 metric tonnes of petrol. Now, because of how the business is run, you see marketers bringing in between two and three parcels.

“This week, we expect about three marketers to bring in products. However, some of these imports are not cast in stone, in the sense that the influence of many regulatory authorities is still there. So it is not that you will just go and bring in products and you then start to sell them.

“The regulators, such as the NMDPRA, have to look at the quality, flash points and so many other things that should be taken into consideration before the product comes in. And when it lands, they will take samples and check them in their labs,” the marketer stated.

Can we expect the three parcels from each marketer to arrive within the week, “All of them are not going to bring in the three parcels at the same time. They bring in a parcel first and later, say in one week time or so, another parcel comes in. All these imports have storage implications.

“It is not something you do in a day. You can't bring in one vessel today (Tuesday) and you bring in another one on Saturday. No, it is not done like that. This is not the importation of 20,000 or 30,000 litres of petrol.”

George Ene-Ita, NMDPRA spokesperson, emphasized that while licensed marketers can import petrol freely, there's a stringent condition: every shipment, regardless of origin, must undergo three rigorous tests by the agency.

“The products must be subjected to our testing protocols at the ports. The products must conform to stipulated standards before we give them the authorization to offload to their terminals.

“Also, before the smaller vessels bring it further inland to Nigeria our people will fly to the place to see the product and carry out some tests to ensure the right specification is upheld.

“Tests are also done at the products' origins. And when the products come in before they are released to the market, further tests would be conducted to ensure that they meet the specifications,” he stated.