Africa’s largest crude oil refinery, the Dangote Refinery in the Federal Republic of Nigeria has announced a reduction in rate at which the company sells diesel to local marketers from N1, 200/litre to N1, 000/litre in a bid to cushion consumers from pressures of high energy cost.
This development triggered excitement among operators in the downstream oil sector.
The new price regime was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday night by the spokesperson of the refinery, Tony Chiejina.
When it commenced operation a few weeks ago, Dangote Petroleum Refinery pegged the price of diesel as N1,200.
While rolling out the products, the refinery supplied at a substantially reduced price of N1,200 per litre three weeks ago, representing over 30 percent reduction from the previous market price of about N1, 600 per litre.
However, on Tuesday, a further reduction of N200 was noticed in the price, with the product now pegged at N1,000.
“In an unprecedented move, Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a further reduction of the price of diesel from N1200 to N1,000/litre.
“This significant reduction in the price of diesel, at Dangote Petroleum Refinery, is expected to positively affect all the spheres of the economy and ultimately reduce the high inflation rate in the country,” the statement said.
Oil marketers had in the last few days urged the refinery to reduce its diesel price.
Dangote oil refinery began supplying the Nigerian domestic market with petroleum products such as diesel and aviation jet fuel.
The Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote recently thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his support and encouragement, towards the actualisation of this project.
He was said to have also thanked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and Nigerians for their support and belief in what he called the historic project.
“We thank President Bola Tinubu for his support and for making our dream come true. This production, as witnessed today, would not have been possible without his visionary leadership and prompt attention to details.
“This is a big day for Nigeria. We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone. This is an important achievement for our country as it demonstrates our ability to develop and deliver large capital projects. This is a game changer for our country,” Dangote said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com