Dangote Industries Limited founded and managed by Aliko Dangote has refuted a media report that its product is currently in circulation, insisting, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited is yet to start lifting its products for onward distribution and sales.
Aliko Dangote who unveiled the Petrol product during the week, said, the new form of PMS that would soon be distributed from his company will make vehicle engines last longer and work better because the petrol product that looked transparent and colourless contains less than 10 parts per million, PPM of sulphur.
Anthony Chiejina, the Dangote Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer in a news statement made available on Thursday, the company is yet to finalise contract agreement with NNPC Limited, and as such, the regulatory company has not started lifting its products.
“Our attention has been drawn to a headline “NNPC lifts Dangote Petrol, sells at ₦897 per litre” published in the BusinessDay Newspapers of Wednesday, 4 September 2024.
We would like to state that NNPC has not commenced lifting of refined Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from our Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Therefore, the issue of fixing the price of petrol lifted from our refinery does not arise, as we are yet to finalize our contract with NNPC.
The PMS market is strictly regulated, which is known to all oil marketers and stakeholders in the sector, hence we can not determine, fix, or influence the product price, which falls under the purview of relevant government authorities.
We urge the public to disregard the headline as it is misleading and does not represent the true position in this matter.
We are guaranteeing Nigerians of exceptionally high quality petroleum products that will be readily available all over the country”, Dangote company stated.
President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, earlier on in the week explained why the first sample of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, from his refinery appears clearer or transparent than the petrol currently in use in Nigeria.
Speaking on Tuesday at his refinery in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State, Dangote highlighted that the clearer petrol is more environmentally friendly and could help reduce health issues associated with polluted petroleum products.
Those present included the Vice President, Oil and Gas, Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin; President and Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, Group Executive Director, Commercial Operations, Dangote Industries Limited, Fatima Aliko Dangote during the unveiling of the first output of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) product (Petrol), from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Lekki Lagos on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
The President, Dangote, stated that the new petrol would also protect engines from damage caused by the unclear petrol typically found in the market.
“This is the sample of the petrol. You see it as a different colour, but that is the real deal. You are now going to have a good and genuine product”, he said.
Adding, regarding the colour of the diesel: “I am sure Nigerians have not seen this colour of diesel before.
This is called Euro-5 diesel. It contains less than 10 parts per million (PPM) of sulphur. This will help vehicles, engines, and generators last longer.
The health of the people and the environment will not be compromised. This is the real deal”.
Prior to this presentation, the management of Dangote Group stated that international oil companies insisted on selling crude oil to their refinery through foreign agents.
They argued that local crude prices would continue to rise because trading firms were offering cargoes at $2 to $4 per barrel above the official price set by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
The group also alleged that foreign oil producers appeared to prioritise selling the crude oil extracted in Nigeria to Asian countries.
In August, Punch Newspaper had reported that: “Dangote refinery was in dispute with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission over an alleged supply of 29 million barrels of crude oil to the refinery.
The Dangote Group accused the NUPRC of not effectively enforcing the Domestic Crude Supply Obligations regulations, claiming that the refinery had not received an adequate amount of locally sourced crude oil.
In response, the NUPRC denied these allegations, stating that it had facilitated the delivery of over 29 million barrels of crude oil to Dangote from January to June 2024″.
Commenting on the new petrol product by Dangote, the Former President of Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria, PMAN, Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa aka CharlyBoy said the Dangote Refinery used more appropriate material to produce the petrol hence the product is white according to him.
In a tweet on Thursday, CharlyBoy said” “Reason why the PMS is pure like water. Petrol has different colors, When it’s Red that means Octane was added. When it’s slightly Green then Octane is slightly very much. When is Yellow it means it has no lead in it. That means it’s unleaded.
But when it’s clear as water as seen in the video then you should know that ethanol was used . What ethanol does is that it improves engine efficiency and power.
Because ethanol has a good amount of oxygen it lessens the amount of carbonation in engines there by reducing air pollution which comes as Carbon dioxide. So this is the best form of Petrol.
Congratulations Dangote”.