The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has said that it will send an additional 17 million barrels of crude oil per day in the next several days to the Dangote refinery located in Lagos, which now processes 650,000 barrels per day.

In an interview with Arise Television, Adedapo Segun, the Executive Vice President of NNPCL Downstream, revealed that the country’s oil company had already provided 30 million barrels of crude to Dangote Refinery in September 2024.

Segun states that the business will deliver 11.3 million barrels in October in addition to 6.3 million barrels in September.

About 30 million barrels have been provided to Dangote thus far; 6.3 million of them this month and 11.3 million in October, according to Segun.

This occurs concurrently with the Dangote Refinery starting to produce PMS, at which point the product’s price increased from N617 to N897 and N855 a litre.

Segun responded to the news by saying, “The pump price today is not reflective of the market.” It is unusual because NNPCL is the only importer of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the nation. We ought to be heading towards a state in which prices are set by the free market.

He made it clear that NNPC’s position as the only importer of fuel was a result of the state of the market, not a conscious choice.

“Allow me to place it in the right context. Not that NNPC is a regulator. We did not decide to act as the exclusive importer. Who enters the market is not decided by us. When others stopped participating, we took over. “Our desire to be monopolists is not the issue,” Segun said.

Recall that on July 29, 2024, the Federal Executive Council authorised the sale of crude oil in Naira, rather than dollars, to Dangote Refinery and other nearby refineries.