The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said Premium Motor Spirit or petrol from the Dangote Refinery will begin to flood the market from September 15, 2024.
The company who revealed this in a statement signed by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye on Thursday in Abuja, said prices of products would be determined by market forces.
The development follows the commencement of petrol refining by the Dangote Refinery earlier in the week.
Quoting NNPCL’s Executive Vice President of Downstream, NNPC Ltd, Adedapo Segun, Soneye said the downstream sector had been fully deregulated, and the company would no longer fix prices.
His argument puts to rest speculations that NNPCL would continue to fix prices despite announcement that the downstream sector had been deregulated.
The speculation was also fueled by reports that NNPCL would be the sole lifter of petrol from the Dangote refinery.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has stated that foreign exchange (forex) illiquidity has been a significant factor influencing the fluctuation in prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which are governed by unrestricted free market forces, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA),” the statement said in part.
While quoting Segun, NNPCL explained that the current fuel scarcity was expected to “subside in a few days as more stations recalibrate and begin selling PMS.”
