The Dangote Group’s new refinery finally began loading Premium Motor Spirit (PMS, petrol or gasoline) on Sept. 14 on to some 500 trucks from the state-operated Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The huge refinery, which will make Nigeria self-sufficient in petrol, has the capacity to load 86 tanker trucks at a time. The NNPC was able to make deliveries on the same day.
Commenting that the event was an “historic breakthrough,” Nigeria’s Finance Minister Wale Edun said, Barron’s reports: “Today we have taken an important step, a key step toward energy self-sufficiency in Nigeria. We have taken an important step to energy security in Nigeria.” The event marks an end to the various disputes between the NNPC and the Dangote Group that had been stalling the sale of petrol by the refinery.
On Sept. 13, Edun released a statement, saying the “agreements have been put in place, and the loading of the first batch of PMS, as already announced by NNPC, will commence on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. And from Oct. 1, NNPC will commence the supply of crude oil to the Dangote refinery to be paid in naira.
