Refinery owners in Nigeria are urging the nation to reduce its reliance on fuel importers and shift towards becoming a fuel-exporting country.
Under the Crude Oil Refineries Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), these owners believe that Nigeria should focus on exporting fuel instead of supporting fuel import businesses.
This call comes as depot owners express concerns that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery might aim to dominate the country’s fuel supply.
Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, recently revealed that the Dangote refinery has requested a pause on issuing licenses for diesel importation, which could force all fuel traders to buy from the refinery instead of importing.
Abdulkabir Aliyu, the National Chairman of the Depots and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, subtly criticized the Dangote Group during his appearance before the Senate ad-hoc committee investigating alleged economic sabotage in the Nigerian petroleum industry.
He noted that the group’s N133 billion profit from sugar sales in just six months was due to its control over the sugar market.
Aliyu warned against allowing any single entity to dominate the petroleum sector, stressing that monopolies are harmful to business.
In a recent interview, Eche Idoko, Publicity Secretary of CORAN, argued that Nigeria should stop issuing import licenses for products like diesel and petrol, which the country can produce locally.
While acknowledging depot owners as investors, Idoko questioned the value they add to the supply chain, pointing out that they contribute to currency pressure and inflate prices by up to N150 per litre due to their operational costs and middleman roles.
He mentioned that independent marketers are currently buying petrol from depot owners at nearly N800 per litre, a situation that could change if depot owners were removed from the equation.
Idoko emphasized that relying on depots is not a sustainable long-term strategy for a country aiming for economic stability.
He suggested that depot owners could partner with refineries to boost domestic refining capacity but criticized them for their refusal to build or collaborate with refineries.
