NNPC, Dangote, speak on refinery production commencement date as Nigerians battle high petrol prices

As Nigerians battle the high cost of petroleum products, especially petrol, they anxiously await the much-touted 650-capacity refinery belonging to billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote.

Dangote promised that the refinery, commissioned on May 22, 2023, by former President Muhammadu Buhari, would commence production at the end of July or early August.

Dangote says there still hope refinery could still commence production on schedule

With a few days to the end of July, hopes seem to decline as struggling Nigerians ask what is next for the much-hyped Africa’s biggest refinery.

Nigerians also want to know the impact of the Dangote refinery on the pump price of petrol, especially in the face of the current hike in price.

According to Tribune, Dangote’s spokesman, Anthony Chiejine, said in response to a question on the commencement date of the refinery that the production commencement date has not been exceeded and remains sacrosanct.

“July has not ended, and August is still there. You could come to the refinery. We will take you on a trip there,” he was quoted to have said.

Per a recent statement by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mele Kyari said Nigerians should not be too optimistic that the local production of petrol by Dangote and the Port Harcourt refineries will affect the price of petrol.

Kyari said: “There is a notion that prices will reduce if the product is processed locally. Let me make it clear that it is not going to change anything. If you produce locally, the refineries will also input the cost of production and other things, which will be sold at the current price.

“There will also be no subsidy when local production starts because there is no cash-to-back subsidy. This country no longer has the resources to continue with subsidy.”

In an interview with Legit.ng, energy policy analyst and Team Lead, Platforms Africa, Adeola Yusuf, said Nigerians should only expect Dangote to sell petrol at the globally accepted rate.

He said the refinery is a private entity that would operate as a commercial venture with profit as its end goal.

Yusuf said: “Dangote refinery is a private enterprise sighted in Free Trade Zone. The development means the Free Trade Zone is not considered a Nigerian territory. So he will sell petrol at the international market rate.