THE Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), has insisted that the price of premium motor spirit, also known as petrol, it planned to import by December will be cheaper than the current rate if healthy competition is promoted in the sector.
In a statement by its National public relations officer, Joseph Obele, on Monday, November 4, the group said competition must be allowed in a deregulated environment.
Obele disclosed that the group had incorporated a business unit that would enable it to bring in petrol before December.
It disputed the allegation by Dangote Refinery that the marketers intend to import substandard products at a cheaper rate, saying the claims were not surprising.
PETROAN disclosed that it was not aware of the cost of petrol from Dangote Refinery until the refinery released a press statement on Sunday, November 3.
“Intensive or aggressive competition in any market brings the best value for money exchange for a commodity. Consumers get the best value for pricing when competition is at its peak, hence competition should be encouraged.
“Contrarily to competition, such a market will be exploitative and strictly for profiteering.
“The publication by Dangote refinery that PETROAN will import substandard petroleum product is not surprising to stakeholders, because such is his usual gimmick for maintaining monopoly”, Obele stated.
He continued, “It is important to set the records straight that PETROAN has never compared the price of Dangote PMS with any other on the fact that Dangote’s PMS price wasn’t known until this morning at the press release by Dangote Refinery.
Obele informed that PETROAN has concluded plans with her foreign refinery counterparts and financial partners to import the best quality of PMS and then sell far less than the present selling rate of PMS in Nigeria.
“We planned to enter the market before December 2024, pending the approval of our import permit license by the regulatory agency and access to foreign exchange from CBN at the official rate”, he added.
PETROAN called for the speedy completion of the ongoing rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, adding that when completed both refineries should be handed over to companies with technical capacity to manage them.
“We will still maintain our position by counselling that the Port Harcourt and Warri Refinery plant after rehabilitation should immediately be privatised and handed over to a reputable firm that has the technical capability, managerial skills, and financial strength in partnership with PETROAN and other critical stakeholders.
“This will enable the operators of the government-owned refineries to withstand aggressive ballistic competition that will be posed by the known beneficiaries of a monopolistic market. Antecedents of the beneficiaries of monopolistic markets have shown numerous suffocating business owners crashing out of other sectors for sole operators in the past.
“Stakeholders’ concern is a prayer that the process of the privatisation should be transparent using the Indorama Petrochemicals as a model as against Maintenance Repairs and Operations (MRO) contract”, he stated.
The ICIR has earlier reported that the chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, on Tuesday, October 29, urged petroleum marketers, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to source petrol directly from his refinery to meet local demands.
Dangote who decried poor patronage from industry stakeholders within Nigeria, confirmed the refinery’s readiness to supply fuel after closed-door talks with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
He stated that the refinery could produce over 30 million litres of fuel daily at full capacity and was holding 500 million litres in reserve, enough to supply the country for over 12 days without imports.
Conversely, PETROAN has confirmed that beyond Dangote’s patronising appeal, healthy competition will ensure Nigerians pay appropriate pricing for the product without being exploited.
“We’re desperately looking for better way to serve Nigerians. Our concern is to source from a moderately cheaper price and ensure price affordability to serve Nigerians better, even if it means cheaper import, we’ll do that,” PETROAN said.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.