Dangote refinery largest surface tank of 120,000,000 capacity for crude
Whereas several petroleum products distribution associations have condemned the purported introduction of product sales in Dollars by Dangote Refinery, the National President of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, has described the decision as a development that could gradually push Nigeria towards a dollarised economy if not properly managed.
Business Hilights.ng gathered that Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s decision to quote ex-depot prices for Premium Motor Spirit, Automotive Gas Oil and aviation fuel in United States dollars for gantry and coastal transactions has started creating serious issues in the downstream petroleum industry of the economy.
Speaking with one of our correspondents, Gillis-Harry faulted the decision by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to sell petrol in United States dollars, warning that the move could effectively dollarise the Nigerian economy and further destabilise the downstream petroleum sector.
Responding in an interview, Gillis-Harry argued that commercial decisions by a major market player must align with national economic objectives, saying “This will turn Nigeria into a dollarised economy. That is the meaning, and that’s why we are saying that some of these decisions, in as much as it’s a private company that has the right to regulate the economy to do what it wants, we still have regulations, not just of price, but of values that should be able to stabilise our economy.”
According to him, “At the end of the day, I think everything has been interrogated properly, and all the stakeholders will then take a decision. Because we cannot have one player, that is the refiner waking up today to change price; tomorrow it increases it; another day it does something else; and suddenly it wakes up and says everybody who had paid naira in his company is no longer valid.”
Continuing, Gillis-Harry added that marketers purchasing petrol in dollars would inevitably come under pressure to pass the burden to consumers. “It is like saying those who buy from Dangote in dollars should also sell in dollars to the masses. But we are not going to do that,” he said.
He assured that “PETROAN will continue to patronise Dangote, patronise imported products, and keep encouraging NNPC to up their game, and make sure that the refineries are working. Because if the four refineries are working, we will not be talking about this at this time.
“We will be talking about what is the competitive value that drives down prices. But that’s not where we are. We just left having a meeting to determine what it is that needs to be done, and suddenly, another shock from the same source. Should everybody run out of business?” he queried.
Gillis-Harry decried the scenario and noted that marketers could now be forced to source scarce foreign exchange from banks to buy products. “To get the US dollar from Nigerian banks, how is that going to work? We have to source dollars? We’ll see how it goes.”
