An oil and gas expert, Olabode Sowunmi, said Dangote Refinery did not commence domestic production of Premium Motor Spirit(Petrol) to sell at a cheap price to Nigerians.
Sowunmi disclosed this in an interview with Channels Television on Monday.
He was speaking on the continued petrol pump hike which stood at N1030 per liter at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company retail outlets nationwide, despite the coming onboard of Dangote Petrol.
Reacting, Sowunmi explained it was misleading to assume that Dangote Refinery would reduce the price of petrol.
According to him, the business of Dangote Refinery refinery is not making a profit for its shareholders not to sell petrol at the cheapest prices.
He claimed that to the extent of Dangote Refinery being a business, its petrol price may be more expensive than imported ones.
“What the Dangote Refinery will do at the end of the day is to eliminate the cost of transportation if we were to import Petroleum products.
“But, it should be understood that it is a private refinery. They are not obliged as a private business to sell at the cheapest price but to sell at a price that will take care of their shareholders. To that extent, Dangote Refinery Petrol may not be cheaper than imported ones.”
Recall that Dangote Refinery commenced the sale of petrol on September 15, 2024, with NNPCL as the sole-off-taker.
Upon lifting Dangote Petrol, NNPCL increased the fuel price to N898 per liter.
The latest hike in fuel price was on Wednesday when NNPCL retail outlets increased its price to N1030 per liter in Abuja.
Meanwhile, in September 2024, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote said that its Refinery’s petrol is 15 percent cheaper than imported ones.
