Recently, Dangote Refinery made a strategic move by reducing its ex-depot price for premium motor spirit (PMS) to N850 from N950 per litre
Marketers Abandon NNPCL Amid Price War with Dangote Refinery – IPMAN
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) has confirmed that its members are increasingly moving away from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) franchise in search of cheaper deals.
This shift comes amid a price war between the state-owned oil firm and Dangote Refinery.
Chinedu Ukadike, a spokesperson for IPMAN, shared this information on Tuesday. Reports suggest that filling stations in Lagos, particularly those located along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, such as in Wawa and Ibafo, have removed the NNPCL branding.
Recently, Dangote Refinery made a strategic move by reducing its ex-depot price for premium motor spirit (PMS) to N850 from N950 per litre. This announcement sparked a new price war in the downstream oil sector.
As a result, many petroleum marketers are relinquishing their licenses with NNPCL due to the price reduction implemented by Dangote Refinery.
Ukadike explained that marketers are rebranding and changing their company names to distance themselves from NNPCL because it is no longer the sole importer of fuel. Marketers naturally gravitate towards partnerships that offer better returns on investment.
“Some marketers are changing and rebranding. Remember that there was a time NNPCL was the sole distributor and importer of petrol.
“So, marketers then gave their filling stations as franchises so that they could get products.
“So marketers normally give their companies to NNPCL to have petroleum products. But now that the game has changed, you can even see some marketers now changing to MRS filling stations, because MRS is now selling cheaper than any other station,” he stated.
As of the time of this report, NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye has not yet responded to inquiries regarding this development.
Undoubtedly, the commencement of operations at Dangote Refinery, along with the restart of operations at the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, has significantly impacted Nigeria’s oil sector.
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