The controversy surrounding the petrol supply from Dangote Refinery to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) intensified yesterday.

A recent document from the state oil company revealed that the refinery has struggled to fulfill the supply request. The NNPCL had asked for 1.065 billion litres between September 15 and October 20, but the Dangote Refinery only delivered 317 million litres.

The document, titled “Summary of Volume Loading,” indicated that in September, the refinery provided 103 million litres, which accounted for 26 percent of the requested volume. In October, it supplied 214 million litres, representing 32 percent of the expected total.

The refinery began petrol distribution on September 15, with NNPCL as the exclusive off-taker. However, since the start of this month, following the Federal Government's policy allowing crude sales in naira to local refineries, other marketers have been authorized to make direct purchases from the facility, which has a capacity of 650,000 litres per day.

At the initial rollout, the NNPCL reported purchasing the product at N898 per litre from the refinery. However, this claim was contradicted by Dangote Refinery, which did not disclose its selling price. In its latest update, the NNPCL stated that it acquired the product at N977 per litre, a figure that has also faced dispute.

Dangote Refinery announced yesterday that it currently has no new legal actions against the NNPCL and other involved parties. 

In a statement from Anthony Chiejina, the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, the company indicated its intention to withdraw the existing case during the next scheduled court date in January. 

“This issue dates back to June and resulted in a filing on September 6, 2024,” he noted. 

He further mentioned that discussions are ongoing among the parties involved, following a presidential directive regarding the naira-for-crude initiative. 

The statement included: “We have made significant progress in this area, and recent developments have rendered this situation less relevant. 

No party has received any court documents, and there are no plans to do so. We have mutually agreed to suspend the legal proceedings. 

It is crucial to emphasize that no court orders have been issued, and there are no negative implications for any party involved. 

We anticipate that when the matter is addressed in January 2025, we will be ready to formally withdraw the case from court.” 

Dangote has requested the Federal High Court in Abuja to annul all licenses recently granted for the importation of petroleum products.

The plaintiff is seeking N100 billion in damages from NMDPRA for granting import licenses to NNPCL, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, and others for the importation of petroleum products, including Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Jet Fuel, despite the fact that it produces AGO and Jet-A1 in quantities that surpass Nigeria's current daily consumption of these products.

The plaintiff argues that the licenses issued to NNPCL and others are in violation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Dangote expressed significant distress over the situation, emphasizing that its investments are at risk unless the court intervenes to affirm that NMDPRA has failed to fulfill its statutory obligations under the PIA by not promoting local refineries and instead permitting the importation of petroleum products.

In a supporting affidavit, Dangote asserted that such licenses should only be granted in cases of a shortfall in petroleum products.