Nigerians residing in the north east geopolitical zone of the country will pay the most for a litre of the premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol in Nigeria, going by the details of the regional price of a litre of PMS released yesterday by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Announcing the regional details on its X (Formerly Twitter) handle, Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, said that the disclosure was based on the negotiations between NNPCL and the Dangote Refinery.
“The estimated prices are based on negotiated terms between NNPC Ltd. and Dangote Refinery which recognise the current international gasoline prices and the prevailing foreign exchange rate in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021,” Soneye said.
“The NNPC Ltd. can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1st, 2024. We reassure Nigerians that any discount from the Dangote Refinery will be passed on 100% to the general public,” he added.
According to the regional details, a litre of PMS will cost N950.22 in Lagos State; N960.22 a litre in Oyo State, and N980.22 in both Imo State in south east, and Rivers State in south-south.
The north central, a litre of PMS in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will cost N992.22. in the north west states of Kaduna, Kano and Sokoto, a litre of PMS will cost N999.22. The highest price per litre across the federation is in Borno State where a litre of fuel will cost N1,019.22.
Justifying the above regional costs, NNPC stated that the costing was based on the Platts10ppm on Friday 13th September 2024 which cost $690 per metric ton, translating to $0.52 per litre. At the exchange rate of the naira to the US dollar which was N1637.59/$, this component of the costing amounted to N842.61 per litre.
The premium on it was $46 per metric ton, translating to $0.03 per litre, resulting in N56.17 per litre. This made the Dangote Refinery’s PMS Gantry Pricing add up to $736 per metric ton or N898.78 per litre.
The agreement also included a NMDPRA levy of N4.495 per litre; a Midstream & Gas Infrastructure Fund (MGDIF) levy of N4.495 per litre and a distribution and logistics cost of N42.45 per litre. This brought the total estimated pump price per litre in Lagos State to N950.22 per litre.
Earlier, NNPC had disclosed the total amount of crude it sold to the Dangote Refinery, starting from December 2023. According to the release, NNPC sold 3.42 million barrels of crude to Dangote Refinery in December 2023. The quantity increased to 3.48 million barrels in February 2024; another 3.29 million barrels in March 2024;3.33 million barrels in April 2024; 3.01 million barrels in May 2024; 5.11 million barrels in June 2024, and another 5.11 million barrels in July 2024.
In August this year, NNPC sold 4.79 million barrels of crude to the same refinery; 5.35 million barrels, and assuring it will supply 11.72 million barrels in October of this year. The total supplies added up to 48.62 million barrels supplied to the Dangote Refinery during the reference period.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have asked the management of Dangote Refinery to come out clean of the disagreement between it and NNPCL over pricing of its PMS. This is said as people are confused why a locally produced product offers no difference in pricing compared to imported product, as many Nigerians had anticipated that the commencement of the sale of PMS from Dangote Refinery would offer relief to the country from the current high pricing regime in the country. .
Abba Audu Benisheikh believes that NNPC is more sincere in its publication, noting that Dangote Refinery should have published the actual cost of a litre of PMS.
“If Dangote Refinery knows that the price of N898 expressly stipulated by NNPCL is wrong, the ideal and sincere thing for Dangote Refinery is to announce the actual price. Without that, NNPCL is more sincere!”
“I think Dangote refinery and NNPCL have a score to settle. These dramas are unnecessary if only both parties are sincere and place the citizens above their personal aggrandizement and ignoble battle of supremacy,” Adewale ‘Damilare said.
