The pump price of Automotive Gas Oil, popularly called diesel, has dropped from about N1,700/litre which it sold for a few weeks ago, to around N1,350/litre in some locations across the country following the sale of the commodity by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

It was gathered on Tuesday that the $20bn worth refinery started pumping out diesel to the domestic market last Wednesday.

It sold a minimum of one million litres to each registered oil marketer that got the product from the plant since it commenced diesel sale.

Officials of the multi-billion dollar plant and oil dealers confirmed that the product was dispensed to marketers at between N1,225/litre and N1,300/litre depending on the volume of purchase.

This came as it was also gathered that the refinery would start releasing Premium Motor Spirit to the domestic market in May this year.

“They started pumping out diesel to marketers since last week. They also promised to sell aviation fuel soon. Some of my members confirmed this to me after making the purchase,” the National President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, told one of our correspondents.

He added, “So some of our marketers have started getting the product, but as an association we have not got the product yet, because we want to get the actual rate that it will be sold to us when we buy in bulk. However, they have started selling diesel because some of our marketers have started buying.

N1,225/litre

“They are selling at N1,225/litre and the minimum volume they are giving is one million litres per marketer. Also, they assured us that they will release more products, but for now this (diesel) is what they are starting with. So we are expecting them to release PMS anytime from now.”

Maigandi said the move by Dangote would definitely lead to a crash in diesel price, as the commodity rose to a high of about N1,700/litre recently.

“The price of diesel is going to fall because of the release of products from Dangote refinery. In fact, it is already coming down in Lagos,” Maigandi stated.

Another oil marketer, who is the Chief Executive, AF Ralph Oil and Gas Ventures, Dr Ralph Arokoyo, confirmed that the refinery had started the sale of diesel to dealers, adding that the plant started dispensing the product last Wednesday.

Asked if Dangote refinery had started supplying diesel to the market, Arokoyo replied, “Yes they have started. They started diesel sales last Wednesday and they have sold to many marketers including members of IPMAN and MEMAN (Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria), as well as other private registered independent dealers.”

Price drops

When also asked about the minimum volume being sold to dealers and at what rate, Arokoyo said, “One million litres is the minimum and the rate is okay considering what other major tank farms are selling, which is why people are trooping to the refinery now.

“The price ranges between N1,250/litre and N1,300/litre depending on the volume you are buying. This is good news for Nigerians because in the last few weeks the price of diesel hovered between N1,600 and N1,700/litre.

“But in many locations across the federation, the prices are beginning to drop due to the emergence of products from that refinery and as the products are being dispatched since last Wednesday. Now you can get AGO (diesel) in some stations at N1,400/litre.

“Some are even doing N1,350/litre now and I want to believe that in a couple of weeks to come, we should see more reduction in the price of the product as more products from the plant hit the market and spread very well across the country.”

On whether the company informed dealers when it would start releasing petrol into the market, Arokoyo replied in the affirmative.

“They (Dangote refinery) said it (petrol) will be available between now and May, which is next month. We are optimistic about this, because PMS is largely used by Nigerians,” the oil marketer stated.

A senior official at Dangote refinery confirmed the sale of diesel to marketers, as the source noted that Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, would soon be released to the market.

“The product (diesel) is everywhere and they (marketers) are accessing it with ease. The product has been on sale to marketers since last week and the transactions have been better.

“The price of the product in various locations of the country will come down, and it is already coming down in many parts of Lagos since we started releasing products to marketers,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

The Dangote refinery has faced a series of hurdles as it strives to release refined products into the market after it was officially inaugurated by former President Muhammadu Buhari in May last year.

Recall that on February 8, 2024, The PUNCH reported that indications emerged that lingering regulatory approvals stalled Dangote Petrochemical Refinery’s plan to release aviation fuel (Jet A1) and diesel for sale in the Nigerian market in January.

The report had stated that weeks after the January 31 timeline set by the management of Africa’s largest refinery to begin sale of its petroleum product in the local market, the refinery was still battling to cross the hurdles of the several layers of regulatory approvals.

It stated that the development came after the refinery began the production of refined petroleum products at the expansive facility.