Oil marketers said they are waiting for the $20 billion Dangote Refinery to present modalities, drafted to guide the lifting of its petroleum products.

The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery had announced the commencement of registration of distributors for the lifting and distribution of its refined petroleum products, adding that they include the members of Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN), and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, (MOMAN).

But in an interview with Vanguard, yesterday, the former Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, and the Managing Director of 11Plc, Mr. Tunji Oyebanji, expressed optimism about the refinery making an impact but expressed concerns over the delay in releasing modalities.

He said:  “The development of Dangote refinery is good and will bring relief to our supply problem. The challenge is that petrol is yet to commence and that is something critical to us and it means life should be better when it does.

“We need to know the commercial terms. Are we getting the products on credit or are we paying in Naira or dollars? All of these are not clear yet.

“Once we are registered, the next step should be to know the nature of the transaction. Specifically, we need information on the mode of transaction. 

“The completion of the refinery is a welcome development since we are moving in the right direction. We expect the lifting of petrol to be soon. As of now, we have not lifted but only registered as customers. There is a need for transparency and openness to customers in the business.”

However, the Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Olufemi Adewole, said that the association commenced discussions with Dangote Petroleum Refinery regarding the lifting and distribution of refined petroleum products last year during a meeting between DAPPMAN Chairman, Dame Winifred Akpani; 2nd Vice Chairman, Alhaji Mahmud Tukur and the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.

According to him, the meeting was to explore collaboration between the refinery and DAPPMAN members whose nationwide presence will be critical in distributing products from the refinery to the consumers.

He said the refining of petroleum products from Dangote Refinery would accelerate Nigeria’s economic development and provide DAPPMAN members with seamless access to refined petroleum products.

Also, National Vice President of IPMAN, Alhaji Hammed Fasola, said the association had declared its intention to lift and distribute petroleum products from Dangote Refinery.

He said: “We have already established a business relationship with Dangote Refinery. We believe that the relationship is going to be a win-win one. Our association owns 80 per cent of the retail outlets in the country and we have all it takes to ensure smooth distribution of petroleum products from Dangote Refinery across the country.”

On his part, the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, MOMAN, Clement Isong said MOMAN members have registered with Dangote Petroleum Refinery to become marketers of its products.

He said: “I confirm that my members have registered with them. We were waiting for the production to start and now it has started, and they will start discussing the commercial terms. So yes, major marketers and other players will buy for the market. The important thing was the registration.

“So now the commercial terms will be agreed with each marketer and then they will buy from them. There are several ways you can buy from them. They have loading ranks, over 90, so you can take your truck to go and pick. You can also use vessels to pick. Those are the two ways you pick products.”

Designed for 100% Nigerian Crude with the flexibility to process other crudes, the Refinery can load 2,900 trucks a day at its truck-loading gantries. The products from the Refinery will conform to Euro V specifications. The refinery design complies with the World Bank, US EPA, European emission norms, and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent norms, employing state-of-the-art technology.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet 100% of Nigeria’s requirement for all refined products (Gasoline, 45 million litres per day; Diesel, 14 million litres per day; Kerosene, 10 million litres per day and Aviation Jet, 2 million litres per day) and have surplus for export.(VANGUARD NEWS)