Journalist confirms NNPCL Issued Petrol Import License to Dangote Weeks After the Launch of Dangote Refinery

Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Journalist confirms NNPCL Issued Petrol Import License to Dangote Weeks After the Launch of Dangote Refinery.

Journalist of Tekedia confirmed the news. 

Dangote Refinery, with the world’s largest production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, was commissioned last month in Lekki, Lagos. Dangote promised during the launch, which was led by former President Muhammadu Buhari and graced by dignitaries from across Africa, that products from the refinery will hit the market by the end of July or August.

“Your excellencies, distinguished guests, our first product will be in the market before the end of July or beginning of August this year,” Dangote had said during the commissioning. “We have built a refinery with a capacity to process 650,000 barrels per day in a single train which is the largest in the world. We have selected the best plants, equipment, and the latest technologies from across the world.”

But reacting to the report, the media relations manager at the NNPCL, Onyi Sunday who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune over the phone, described the report as misleading stating that the company was not a regulatory organization.

Her words:” The report is misleading. We don’t grant licenses or permits because we are not a regulatory organization. The responsibility lies with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), not NNPCL. You should check with them. NNPCL has just a small stake of 20 per cent in the refinery.”

However, efforts to reach the NMDPRA Spokesperson, Mr. Kimchi Apollo failed as his phone line was off at the time of filing this report.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has issued a license to the Chairman of Dangote Group Aliko Dangote, to import petroleum products, weeks after Dangote Refinery was commissioned.

Energy Times reports, citing sources at the presidency, that the license will see Dangote importing refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) into Nigeria. According to the report, the imported fuel would be discharged at the Dangote barge, where it will be pumped into tanks from.

The company stated that it is not within its jurisdiction to grant a license or permit for fuel import.

According to the report, published in a national daily, the writer alleged that the imported fuel would be discharged at the Dangote barge and pumped into tanks to be sold at a market-dictated price to marketers while work progresses at the refinery.