The Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals will today launch its Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks for the commencement of nationwide distribution of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
The Refinery announced in August that it had received the first batch of its 4000 CNG-powered trucks for the fuel distribution programme, which was initially set to commence on August 15.
During a courtesy visit by the AfricaRice Centre at his Lagos office on Sunday, Aliko Dangote reiterated that its decision to adopt direct fuel distribution was to reduce dependency on third-party carriers for fuel distribution in Nigeria.
According to him, the move was not only a matter of strategic choice but a national imperative.
Last week, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) accused the Refinery of “offering lower prices to international buyers while quoting higher rates to local off-takers.”
According to them, while they welcomed the Refinery, they noted that the facility’s contribution is between 30 to 35 per cent of national demand.
They alleged that the Refinery does not offer free product delivery to buyers, adding that constant price slashes by the refinery, and to bypass them in distribution, were not patriotic, but a business move intended to monopolise the downstream market.
Responding, however, Dangote said it decided to jettison the Single Point Mooring (SPM) system for fuel distribution to avoid an extra cost of N75 per litre in handling charges, which would translate to N1.5 trillion annually.
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