The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has raised concerns over rising logistics and regulatory bottlenecks stifling its competitiveness, disclosing that port-related charges have made it more expensive for oil marketers to lift products from its Lekki-based refinery than from offshore storage depots in neighbouring countries like Togo.

The businessman noted that domestic marketers are grappling with multiple charges levied at both the point of loading and discharge when sourcing products from the $20bn refinery, a cost structure not applicable when importing from offshore terminals like the Lomé Floating Storage Terminal.

He said this bottleneck fuels the 69 per cent continued import of refined petroleum products, making Africa a destination for cheap, often toxic petroleum products, many of which are blended to substandard levels that would not be permitted in Europe or North America.

He declared this at the just concluded Global Commodity Insights Conference on West Africa’s refined fuel market, jointly organised by the NMDPRA and S&P Global Commodity Insights in Abuja.

“In terms of port charges, it is currently more expensive to load a domestic cargo of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, as customers pay both at the point of loading and at the point of discharge. But when they

load from Lome, which competes with us, they pay only at the point of discharge. This is simply unfair and unsustainable,” Dangote lamented.

He stated that such a structure inadvertently incentivises fuel importation over local refining, defeating the purpose of self-sufficiency and the Federal Government’s plan to curb foreign exchange pressure.

Further findings by our correspondent revealed that this extra charge is being borne by marketers who buy products from the refinery.

Reacting, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, however, clarified that the extra cost may not apply to local buyers but to marketers who go through coastal routes from other countries.

Ukadike, in a telephone interview on Wednesday, said that the peculiar may not be local marketers because they load products from the gantry.

He said, “We don’t load in Lomé, but for Nigerian distribution through the coastal route, it is easier to use the vessels here in Nigeria because it is interstate. Most of the international clearance and the rest is not applicable, because you would be able to avoid a lot of charges, both international and local charges.

“It is better to load from Dangote via both means. But if you are loading coastal from another country, it is more difficult than when you are loading from Nigeria.”

Oil and gas analyst and Chief Executive Officer of Petroleumprice, Olatide Jeremiah, said the low octane rating of imported petrol potentially reduces its landing costs.

In another development, petroleum marketers under the aegis of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria have accused the Dangote refinery of deploying restrictive sales strategies and pricing models that hinder open market access and fuel competition in the downstream sector.

Speaking during a panel session at the West African Refined Products Pricing and Markets Development Conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the Executive Secretary of DAPPMAN, Olufemi Adewole, said the refinery’s business model does not favour most local marketers, especially independent players who rely on flexible coastal supply logistics.

“Since the advent of Dangote refinery, it has not been smooth sailing at all,” Adewole said. “We had preliminary meetings with their management. We received promises and assurances that we would be accommodated. We are ready and still willing to patronise Dangote. But the issue is, is Dangote ready to give us the product we want?”

He lamented that despite registering for supply, many marketers are unable to access refined products due to what he described as a “restrictive sales method” employed by the refinery.

“You don’t get the price upfront,” Adewole explained. “It is only after you’ve been cleared that a proforma invoice is issued. Meanwhile, there appears to be a select group Dangote prefers to trade with.”

In a similar vein, Clement Isong, Executive Secretary of the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria, called for regulatory balance to prevent the emergence of a monopoly.

“It is true that an investor who has poured billions into a project should enjoy the benefits of scale and innovation. However, the regulator must step in when one player begins to dominate,” Isong warned. “When you get to a point where only one player is left in the market, that is no longer a market; that is a monopoly.”