Business
Domestic Marketers Rush Dangote Refinery For Products
As Nigerians expect premium motor spirit from the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery this month, petroleum marketers have started registering with the company ahead of loading the product, The PUNCH has learnt.
The marketers are registering as individual business owners applying to get direct fuel supply from the oil refinery.
This is even as the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria said it would continue talks with the company to get bulk supply for its members who may not be able to buy a large volume of petrol from the refinery.
The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, last month disclosed that it would begin the sale of PMS in June, saying his refinery would end the importation of petrol into Nigeria.
Speaking at the recent Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, Dangote expressed optimism about transforming Africa’s energy landscape.
“Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre,” he declared
“We have enough gasoline to give to at least the entire West Africa, diesel to give to West Africa and Central Africa. We have enough aviation fuel to give to the entire continent and also export some to Brazil and Mexico.”
“We have started producing jet fuel, we are producing diesel, and by next month, we’ll be producing gasoline. What that will do, it will be able to take most African crude,” Dangote told the panel.
The words of Dangote appeared to have come as a soothing balm to marketers who have not been able to import fuel for a long time.
To independent marketers, the news is heart-warming because they have hitherto depended on third parties to get petrol at a higher cost for their filling stations scattered across the country.
When he was speaking with our correspondent in May, the National Vice President of IPMAN, Hammed Fashola, expressed happiness, saying “the Dangote refinery can satisfy our needs as far as petroleum products are concerned, especially petrol”.
The IPMAN leader expressed the eagerness of marketers to start lifting fuel from the refinery, saying, “We are all waiting, we are eager for the commencement of the lifting on petroleum products from Dangote refinery, especially petrol”.
The marketer stressed that the private refinery would put an end to fuel scarcity in Nigeria as the product would no longer be imported.
Meanwhile, Fashola explained that IPMAN as a body is yet to have an agreement with the Dangote refinery on the supply of premium motor spirit, calling on the company to consider working directly with the association instead of individuals.
He noted that IPMAN should be a beautiful bride before Dangote for being in control of over 80 per cent of the filling stations in Nigeria.
Fashola said plans had been concluded to meet Dangote for discussions on possible price cuts. He told The PUNCH that they would meet with Dangote to negotiate a discount through bulk purchases.
The IPMAN leader said, “We have our letter with them, we are expecting their response, and we will surely do a follow-up. The letter was sent about a month ago and we are going to follow up. We are just like a ready-made market for Dangote. It is an advantage for him to have us in his programme. I believe that he would like to have us.”
He added that the association would request a discount during the meeting with Dangote.“You know when you come together as a group, you have that negotiating power on your strength. There is no way we will not negotiate for a discount. That is why we don’t encourage individual company participation,” he stated.
While it appears the proposed meeting with Dangote has yet to materialise, Fashola informed our correspondent on Sunday that individual marketers are already applying for the product.
Asked if IPMAN had met with Dangote, he replied, “No, but we have started registering individually with the company.”
Replying to whether the marketers were no longer interested in meeting the company’s president, he said, “Discussion is still going on it.”
Contacted, the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, said he would not know whether or not members of the association were already registering with Dangote.
“I have to ask, I am not sure. I don’t know. I don’t have any information,” Isong tersely retorted.
There are speculations that the refinery might choose to sell its petrol through a major marketer.
The company is currently selling its diesel through MRS, one of the energy firms making up MEMAN.
“I can confirm to you that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has entered a strategic partnership with MRS oil and gas stations to ensure that consumers get to buy fuel at affordable prices in all their stations, be it Lagos or Maiduguri,” the company’s spokesperson, Anthony Chiejina, said in April.
When the Dangote refinery announced the commencement of operations in January, the Executive Secretary of MEMAN, Isong, informed The PUNCH that its members had registered with the refinery.
“We have all registered with Dangote so that we can buy and sell. All my members are registered with Dangote. Whenever the product is ready and starts coming out, you will see it in our filling stations.
“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 now, the commercial terms will be agreed with each marketer and then they will buy from them,” Isong stated.
In January, the Dabgote Group, owners of the 650,000 barrels per day capacity refinery confirmed the registration of oil marketers as its distributors, stating, “Three prominent associations, that constitute 75 per cent of the total market in Nigeria have been registered. The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, Nigerians are eagerly waiting to start having the Dangote petrol in circulation, hoping that it would crash the current pump price of the fuel which the masses majorly depend on for transportation and individual power generation.
Story Credit – The PUNCH, except the headline.
Enhanced adoption of artificial intelligence and other digital technologies to improve operations in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is taking the centre stage in relevant circles.
The issue came up strongly when the President-elect of the Nigerian Institute of Petroleum and Gas Engineers NIPetGE, Prisca Kanebi, paid a courtesy call at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Abuja.
Biztellers reports that the Kanebi led delegation was received by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, represented by the Executive Vice President, Gas, Power and New Energy, Olalekan Ogunleye.
According to a statement made available on Sunday, discussions at the meeting focused on the future of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon industry amid global energy transition concerns, technological changes and sustainability targets.
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The statement indicated that the NNPC Ltd acknowledged the role of NIPetGE in policy advocacy, technical development and innovation within the sector.
Speaking during the meeting, Kanebi highlighted recommendations from the institute’s recent conference, including the proposed establishment of a national centre for intelligent energy systems to support the deployment of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and robotics across the petroleum value chain.
She also commended the Federal Government’s decarbonisation efforts and reiterated the institute’s support for policies aimed at improving sustainability in the industry.
The institute also recommended the creation of a hydrocarbon-linked emissions trading system to allow Nigeria to take part in global carbon markets.
The institute also proposed fiscal incentives to support local manufacturing and service delivery in the oil and gas sector, as well as the expansion of the Energy Transition Plan to include measurable upstream decarbonisation targets backed by tax credits.
Other proposals included increased public-private partnerships in emission control infrastructure, carbon capture projects and hybrid renewable energy initiatives.
Both organisations also stressed the need for stronger collaboration between industry and academic institutions to improve professional capacity and align petroleum engineering practice in Nigeria with international standards.
The institute further disclosed that its bill seeking chartered status had passed second reading and was progressing towards a third hearing at the National Assembly.
It added that NNPC Ltd pledged support for future collaborations with the institute on initiatives aimed at improving efficiency and innovation in the energy sector.
Nigeria’s indigenous oil and gas companies are reopening dormant wells and ramping up production from assets acquired from international oil companies (IOCs) to boost crude oil output.
The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Nigeria Council, made the assertion through its Chairman, Francis Nwaochie, on the sideline of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) which ended at the weekend in Houston, Texas.
Nwaochie said indigenous operators were already taking advantage of opportunities created by disruptions in the global energy market to increase production from existing assets.
According to him, local firms that recently acquired onshore and shallow water assets from IOCs were aggressively reviving inactive wells and maximizing available infrastructure to raise output levels.
“What we are seeing now is that indigenous companies are reopening wells from the assets they acquired from the IOCs. Some of them have almost doubled production from those existing assets,”.
He explained that the renewed focus on dormant wells and existing facilities had become critical at a time the global oil market was facing supply shortages triggered by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The SPE Nigeria Council Chairman noted that Africa, particularly Nigeria, was well positioned to benefit from the supply gap because of the continent’s relative stability compared to some other oil-producing regions.
“There is a huge opportunity for Africa right now. The focus is gradually shifting to Africa because of the volatile environment in many other producing regions.”
He stated that indigenous operators were leveraging digital technologies, financing opportunities and local expertise to improve production efficiency and optimise existing fields.
He added that stronger implementation of local content policies was also helping to create a more stable operating environment for oil and gas investments.
“Local content is very critical. Once communities and local companies clearly understand their roles and benefits, then you create peace across the industry. Business only thrives in peaceful environments.”
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Nwaochie also stressed the need for Nigeria to move beyond crude oil production and begin developing indigenous technologies for the energy industry.
According to him, SPE Nigeria Council was actively supporting innovation and technology development among young Nigerian engineers and researchers.
He disclosed that the association was engaging the National Universities Commission(NUC) on reforms to engineering curricula in universities to better prepare graduates for the future of the energy industry.
“One of our major focuses in SPE is technology development. We should not only import machines and equipment, we must begin to develop our own technologies locally.”
Nwaochie revealed that SPE was already supporting local innovators working on technologies such as remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs), noting that indigenous technology development will strengthen Nigeria’s economy and deepen local participation in the oil and gas sector.
“We may not get everything right immediately but we must start somewhere. That is how countries that dominate the global energy industry built their capacities.”
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