Dangote Refinery is going back to the US to meet its crude oil needs.
On the second of September 2024, Dangote Refinery said it was ready to begin petrol supply to Nigerians. It was a promise that brought a bit of joy to Nigerians.
It was also a story that only reduced importation of petrol and cost of transportation in the mind of the people and not in reality.
Many had hoped that with the refinery coming out with its petrol, the rising cost of goods and services in Nigeria would fall like a pack of card.
In fact, the Central Bank of Nigeria had projected that the lifting of refined petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery would lower transportation costs.
It was also hopeful that it would curb inflation and strengthen the country’s foreign reserves.
The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, made this statement during a press briefing at the 297th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Meeting held at the CBN headquarters in Abuja in September 2024.
Unfortunately, the right cards necessary for this to happen were not on the table.
Still Importing Petrol
As of the time of writing this article, Nigeria still imports petrol.
On the other hand, Dangote Refinery has started exploring the exportation of its petrol.
The exportation to West Africa began in the month of November, months after Dangote refinery loaded tanks with petrol, waiting for marketers in Nigeria to lift it.
A couple of things have affected this expectation.
On November 2, 2024, petroleum marketers said that the cost of Dangote petrol was higher than that from other sources, of course those are companies outside Nigeria.
Unfortunately, this is where we now find ourselves after years of waiting for the refinery to begin operations.
The cost of Dangote petrol is higher than imported petrol because crude used for that petrol was imported or bought in dollar.
Added to that, is the free fall of the naira.
All of these, therefore, made it impossible for Nigerians to get the petrol at a low amount.
Meanwhile, there were other costs added to the cost of Dangote petrol, making it far above Nigerians’ expectations.
When Aliko Dangote said petrol was ready and that the price shared by the NNPCL was mischievous, Nigerians frowned at this high cost.
However, Nigerians are not aware that Dangote had relied on the US for its crude oil.
He had experienced bureaucratic hurdles and corruption that had been identified in the petroleum sector.
Plague Of Bureaucracy
The sad thing is that many individuals are currently benefiting from the continued importation of petrol.
These individuals are not willing to sacrifice their benefits for the good of all.
Sadly, this development overshadows the instruction of President Bola Tinubu in July, 2024.
He had made an attempt to take away the hurdle. The President gave an approval that Dangote should get crude from the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited. with payment in Naira.
But that approval is now plagued by a heap of bureaucratic upheaval, which now forces Dangote Refinery to seek crude outside Nigeria once again.
Some persons in the sector benefit from petrol importation. They do not want to see that Dangote Refinery takes away the largess they get.
While Dangote continued to wait for formalisation of the crude in Naira approval, cost mounts. This is because the tanks are empty without crude.
There are often insurance costs on facilities of that magnitude. The more the company leaves the plant inactive, the more loss it incurs.
The company became tired of waiting, as investors’ pressure mount.
To ensure that these costs do not eat into the profit of the company, it had to return to the US with a fresh order.
Sadly, with the latest development, Nigerians’ expectation of petrol from Dangote Refinery may be longer than they had thought.
