The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has projected a significant reduction in petrol prices once the Dangote Petroleum Refinery begins direct sales to oil marketers.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, IPMAN spokesperson Chinedu Ukadike said the association is in talks with the Dangote Refinery to secure direct lifting rights for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.

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This move comes after the federal government directed the refinery to sell exclusively to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), with other marketers required to buy from the national oil firm.

He explained that bypassing middlemen by allowing marketers to source petrol directly from the refinery would cut unnecessary distribution costs, leading to lower prices at the pump for consumers.

Ukadike said, “We have written to Dangote, and he has responded positively, indicating readiness to discuss with us. We believe that these discussions will soon yield results, and whatever agreement we reach will be shared with Nigerians. We want to take our products directly to cut off all these unnecessary price hikes.”

Addressing public concerns about independent marketers being driven by profit, Ukadike reaffirmed IPMAN’s commitment to ensuring fair and affordable fuel prices for Nigerians.

He also expressed optimism that the collaboration with the Dangote Refinery, alongside the anticipated reopening of the Port Harcourt Refinery, would help resolve bureaucratic bottlenecks and stabilize petrol prices across the country.

The $550 million upstream gas project between the NNPC Ltd and TotalEnergies on the development of the Ubeta field has taken off, the Presidency announced on Tuesday.

This was contained in a statement in Abuja, on Wednesday, by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye.

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According to Soneye, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, made the disclosure during an inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, hosted by the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC.

“The signing ceremony of the 550 million USD Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Ubeta Field Development Project took place in Abuja in June, this year,” he stated.

The Ubeta field, which was discovered in 1964, is located northwest of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

It was gathered that at a luncheon organised as part of the inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, Verheijen revealed that the upstream gas project would deliver 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day when operational.

Verheijen added that major energy reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu since June 2023 focused on improving energy security, attracting investments, and deepening collaboration with key partners, including the US government.

She said the key reforms had improved the viability of the gas-to-power value chain of the country.

The reforms, according to her, included initiatives to improve cash flows in electricity distribution through smart metering and the payment of outstanding debts owed investors and to reduce carbon emissions from gas production.

She added that the President issued five new executive orders to support the reform efforts, aimed at providing fiscal incentives for investment and reducing the cost and time of finalising and implementing contracts to develop and expand gas infrastructure.

The presidential aide said the directives are aimed to immediately unlock up to $2.5 billion in new oil and gas investments in the country.

Responding, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources, Geoffrey Pyatt, said the dialogue was apt and strategic.

“The inaugural U.S.-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue has set the stage for strengthened energy collaboration between the United States and Nigeria. Together, we’re advancing shared energy security, decarbonisation, and economic growth goals,” he said.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, led the Nigerian delegation to the event.

Officials from the Ministry of Power, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, and NNPC Limited were also in attendance.

The U.S. delegation included representatives from the Bureau of African Affairs, USAID, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, and the Export-Import Bank.

Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has criticized the Nigerian government for its role in the current pricing dispute between the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and the Dangote Refinery, attributing it to erratic government policies.

In a press briefing at Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two on Wednesday, Ajaero condemned the situation as fraudulent and argued that a deregulated market should encourage competition and consumer choice, not impose restrictive pricing.

He asserted that the attempt to regulate Dangote’s pricing or influence private sector costs undermines fair market practices.

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Ajaero called on Nigerians to voice their concerns, claiming the government’s actions are undermining the private sector’s ability to set prices.

He said, “For a product produced here, he didn’t import with dollars, there was no landing cost, and they want him to sell it at the same cost as what they are bringing from abroad. That is fraudulent and unacceptable.”

Additionally, Ajaero criticized the government for not repairing the refineries as promised in August of the previous year, noting that no progress has been made as of September 2024.

On the subject of the N70,000 minimum wage, Ajaero assured that implementation is on track according to the agreement made on April 18, 2024.

He confirmed that the National Assembly has approved the bill, and the committee on consequential adjustments is actively working on its rollout.