The President and Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has revealed that the price of petrol produced by his 650,000 barrels per day refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, is about 15 percent cheaper than the one imported into the country by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
The richest African and blackman in the world made the revelation in a 26-minute interview with Bloomberg Television in New York on Monday monitored by Business Hallmark.
Speaking on the pricing disagreement between his refinery and the NNPCL after the rollout of gasoline from the mammoth plant on September 15, 2024, Dangote said NNPCL bought its current stock from him at a cheaper price than its imported fuel, but gave a uniform price for all products.
“There wasn’t really a disagreement, per se. NNPC bought from us on the 15th of September at the international price, they also imported about 800,000 metric tons of gasoline.
“So the one that they bought from us actually is cheaper than the one they are importing.
“And so when they announced our price, the guy (NNPCL’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye), I don’t know whether he was authorized. The price he quoted wasn’t really the real price. What they have announced is most likely what it cost them, including profit and other expenses.
“And then the other one is the one that they imported. But the people (Nigerians) don’t know how much they spend in terms of imports, but their importation is almost, maybe about 15 per cent more expensive than ours, you know.
“So what they are supposed to do is to sell at a basket price, or if they want to remove subsidy, they can announce that they will remove subsidy, which is okay, everybody, you know, will adjust it”, Dangote explained.
While confirming ownership of two oil blocks in the upstream sector with an expected production date of October 2024, the Kano-born billionaire advised the Federal Government to completely end the fuel subsidy regime, arguing that the removal would help determine the actual petrol consumption in the country.
