THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has discountenanced the position of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) regarding the direct sale of petrol to marketers by Dangote Refinery Limited.
MURIC had, in a statement issued on Friday, claimed that recent changes to the pump price of petrol will prevent the Dangote Refinery from selling the product at lower prices to Nigerians.
The group also claimed NNPC Ltd. had become the sole off-taker of all products from the refinery, noting that the refiner was being undermined by the actions of NNPC Ltd.
However, Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, in a statement on Saturday, dismissed the claims of MURIC.
While puncturing the claims of MURIC, NNPC LTD in the statement, noted that the pricing of petroleum products from any refinery, including the Dangote Refinery Ltd. (DRL), is determined by global market forces.
The company, therefore, noted that recent changes in PMS prices have no impact on the DRL or any other domestic refinery’s access to the Nigerian market.
“In fact, if current prices are perceived as high, it presents an ideal opportunity for the refinery to sell its products at lower prices in the Nigerian market.
“Furthermore, we emphasize that there is no guarantee of lower prices associated with domestic refining compared to any global parity pricing framework, as confirmed by the DRL.
“The NNPC Ltd. will only fully offtake PMS from the DRL if the market prices of PMS are higher than the pump prices in Nigeria.
“The DRL and any other domestic refinery are free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, which is the current practice for all fully deregulated products.
“NNPC Ltd. has no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment, and therefore, the notion of becoming a sole off-taker does not arise.
“The NNPC Ltd. cannot undermine a business in which it holds a billion-dollar stake.
“As an advocacy group for fair and just treatment, MURIC should have verified the facts before making statements that are entirely flawed and have the potential to incite ordinary Nigerians against the NNPC Ltd.”
Eighteen-Eleven Media