The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has issued tenders to sell two fuel cargoes for export, the first from the newly commissioned refinery, trading sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Nigerians have been eagerly looking forward to the release of products from the $20bn Dangote refinery after it was inaugurated in May last year by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Recall that on February 8, 2024, The PUNCH reported that indications emerged that lingering regulatory approvals had stalled Dangote Petrochemical Refinery’s plan to release aviation fuel (Jet A1) and diesel for sale in the Nigerian market in January.
The report had stated that one week after the January 31 timeline set by the management of Africa’s largest refinery to begin sale of its petroleum product in the local market, the refinery was still battling to cross the hurdles of the several layers of regulatory approvals.
It stated that the development came almost a month after the refinery began the production of petroleum products at the expansive facility.
On January 12, 2024, Dangote refinery announced that it had commenced the production of Automotive Gas Oil, popularly called diesel, and aviation fuel or JetA1.
The refinery, Africa’s largest with a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, was built on a peninsula on the outskirts of the commercial capital Lagos by the continent’s richest man Aliko Dangote.
Nigeria has for years relied on expensive imports for nearly all the fuel it consumes but the $20bn refinery is set to turn it into a net exporter of fuel to other West African countries, in a huge potential shift of power and profit dynamics in the industry
Reuters stated in its report on Wednesday that Dangote declined its request for comment. The oil firm has also remained mute to several enquiries by The PUNCH.
The first cargo is 65,000 metric tonnes of low-sulphur straight run fuel oil, which Dangote has awarded to Trafigura and is due to load at the end of February, three of the sources said, according to Reuters, as it added that Trafigura declined to comment.
At least one refiner said they had been offered the cargo by Trafigura without elaborating further.
The second tender is for about 60,000 tonnes of naphtha, three other sources said. Two of them added that the tender closes on February 15. Loading details were not immediately available.
Sources told Reuters last week that the refinery was preparing to deliver its first fuel cargoes to the domestic market within weeks.
The two fuels on offer are typical products of running light sweet crude through a crude distillation unit in a refinery without further upgrading capacity.
It is expected to take months for upgrading units to be brought online, experts have said. The refiner began buying crude in December last year and Nigeria’s state-owned oil firm NNPC Ltd has been the main supplier.
Dangote has also purchased some US oil and is expected to receive two million barrels of US WTI Midland in early March, according to LSEG and Kpler ship tracking.
Make Government stop behaving as if Nigerians are rich. Naira was floated and subsidy was removed, this is not the right time for Government to stop subsidizing power
ch214: Citizens of Nigeria shows their grievances by voicing out their displeasure on the president of Nigeria over his laziness towards the rulership of Nigeria which is causing hardship, insecurity and failure of Nigeria economy. Citizens of Nigeria are saying they will not acknowledge Bola Ahmed Tinubu as their President anymore.
In spite of the Federal Government’s repeated assurance of bringing down the prices of foodstuffs in the markets, some grain marketers, especially rice merchants in Sokoto State, have commenced massive exportation of local rice to Niger Republic.
Arewa PUNCH’s month-long investigations across the state reveal that most rice dealers now prefer to export the Nigerian local rice to the neighbouring country due to the exchange rate.
A commercial driver who is among the group hired to ferry bags of the grain outside the country told Arewa PUNCH on condition of anonymity that the reason behind the business idea is to get more money.
He explained, “I am sure you know that our currency in this country has spoiled beyond reasonable doubt.
“A plate of local rice in Sokoto goes for between 3,000 and 3,200 naira while same products go for the equivalent of 5,500 or more in Niger Republic.
“I am sure you know, as a trader, your primary objective is to make more money for yourself. You should be concerned about your profit.
“How will you expect me to sell products in this country when a better market is waiting for me just around the corner,” he stated.
Continuing, he stressed, “Ever since our currency got to this level, we just have to find a way to make more money when there is such opportunity.
“The ECOWAS ban on Niger Republic has restricted movement of goods from foreign countries especially foreign parboiled rice which is why we too are taking the advantage in this gap to make sharp export business.”
Asked if the Nigeria-Niger Republic border closure does not affect their operation, he remarked that the continued closer of the border does not affect their movement saying, “we normally move through the illegal routes along the bush.
“We only need to bribe these security agents along the bush path both in Nigeria and these in the Niger Republic territory to deliver the rice over there.
“Even if the border is not closed by ECOWAS or the federal government, we wouldn’t have use the border route as our goods may not be allowed to pass through, so the bush path remains the better route for our movement.”
Arewa PUNCH recalls that the directive of the Economic Community of West Africa States to it’s member countries to close all their borders against Niger Republic, has brought about untold hardship to the country, especially as the food supply chain got thin with foreign rice being the most affected from getting into that country.
Business activities in Asaba and its environs were crippled on Tuesday following the official announcement of the passing of the Asagba of Asaba, Obi Chike Edozien.
Schools, shops and other business activities were shut down just as movements in and out of Asaba were restricted following the passing of the monarch who was aged 100 years.
Our correspondent observed that the popular Ogbogonogo and Oko markets, among others, were under lock and key as early as 5 am in preparation to announce the death of the 13th Asagba of Asaba.
At the palace, there was a procession led by the Odogwu of Asaba, Chief Nwanze Odua, who dressed in red attire and danced around the palace.
Announcing the passing of the monarch at around 5 pm, the Onihe of Asaba, Obi Ubaka Attor, said, “Iroko has fallen, the Asagba of Asaba has gone.”
A statement by the Palace Secretary, Chief Patrick Ndili, announcing the passing of the monarch, read: “With heavy hearts, we announce the transition unto eternal glory our highly revered royal father, Prof. Chike Edozien, the Asagba of Asaba.
“He was aged 100 years and the 13th Asagba of Asaba who ascended the throne on July 1, 1991.”
He said the burial arrangements would be announced by the family and the Asaba Kingdom in due time.
The announcement was followed by the shooting of 21 cannons.
Attor announced the decoration of Asagba’s first, Mr Joseph Edozien Jr. as the regent.
Realdeals: The question should be why do you need cash withdrawal for the USD? I have a Dom account linked to my PayPal, payment will just be deducted for whatever service or product I need, still carried out a transaction last Thursday.
If I need to convert to naira, bank will change it at the prevailing market rate.
usagee36: Dude i send $400 to my parents monthly which isnt up to 300k before this crazy increase. With this, i send $200 and save $200. So their money increased to N300,000 monthly. Tell me its not in my favor
300k in 2023 has more value than 300k in 2024. What you can use 300k to do last year, you will need like 500k to do the same thing presently. If you can still afford it, increase the amount you send to your parents back to $400
I don't think the FG really knows how fast the price of foodstuffs is rising. I expect them to flood the Nigeria market with imported rice, wheat etc on the short term.
Birdbyrde440: If you believe what politicians tell you, you might die untimely. Don't listen to what they say, watch what they do. Action speaks louder.
Power distribution companies that are performing below stipulated standards in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry are going to lose 50 per cent of their operating expenditures, the Federal Government declared on Monday.
It made the declaration through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission at the 1st NESI Stakeholders Meeting of 2024 in Lagos, stressing that the individual performances of the Discos shall be examined on a case by case basis going forward.
Officially, Nigeria has 11 power distribution companies that supply electricity to over 12 million registered power users across the country.
The successor Discos were privatised in November 2013, alongside the power generation companies that produce the electricity supplied to the national grid.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria transmits the power produced by the Gencos to the Discos for onward distribution to users nationwide.
But the sector has been plagued by series of concerns, top among which is the issue of poor liquidity, and complains around the inability of Discos to make adequate financial remittances to the industry to guarantee power production.
But in series of posts on the power sector regulator’s official X handle on Monday, it was stated that the Vice Chairman, NERC, Musiliu Useni, urged Discos to improve their performance or suffer consequence.
He was quoted as saying, “NERC will look at performance on a case by case basis. Sanctions and actions will not be the same. Ensure that you (Discos) improve your efficiency.
“If your efficiency is at the level expected, you will get your full OPEX (operating expenditure). If you don’t perform, you will only get 50 per cent of your admin OPEX.”
NERC, as the regulator of the power sector, has the power to approve the operating expenditures of Discos and other key operators in the industry, and it has been doing this over the years.
Speaking on the operationalisation of Ministries Departments and Agencies centralised billing platform, Useni told his audience that this was being handled by the finance ministry.
“A payment system was put in place for critical MDAs, with an agreement for the central settlement of their electricity consumption by the Ministry of Finance, which would have access to their meter readings,” he stated.
He further noted that the sector must be run sustainably in terms of payment obligations by various operators.
“We need to ensure that sustainable payment going forward is in place. Market rules are clear, but they don’t envisage there would be tariff shortfall or subsidy,” Useni stated.
The commission stated that the meeting was expected to provide strategic direction for the NESI, review compliance since the last meeting, and give licensees a platform to discuss issues.
Also speaking at the meeting, the Commissioner, Engineering, Performance and Monitoring, NERC, Chidi Ike, said the responsibilities of licensees in the NESI shall be examined.
“We are planning to organise a comprehensive workshop for licensees to examine their responsibilities. The workshop will cover the legal framework, grid code, HSE (health, safety and environment), and everything they need to know, following which there will be sanctions for non-compliance,” he stated.
He expressed worry over the construction of houses under transmission lines and warned Discos to desist from supplying such structures with power.
“You see swathes of communities under transmission lines. Discos supply power to them despite them being in clear contravention of the Right of Way of TCN. We are going to focus on those areas and make sure that Discos aren’t going to benefit from any form of illegality,” Ike stated.
On his part, the Assistant General Manager, Engineering, Performance and Monitoring, NERC, John Joseph, highlighted the leading cause of accidents during his presentation on the Health and Safety Performance of the NESI in 2022 and 2023.
“38 per cent of accidents in 2023 were caused by unsafe conditions. There are safety guidelines that should be followed but are jettisoned instead, leading to accidents,” he stated.
abhosts: Who exactly is benefiting from an ever falling Naira? What kind of cruelty is this? In 2019, a friend of mine based in the US invested $200,000(N72,000,000 at that time) into Nigerian real estate. Now his investment is valued at about N200,000,000($135,000). Despite the fact that his naira investment tripled in value, it was still not worth it from a dollar perspective. He is now regretting his decision because he would have been better off just leaving his $200k in the bank when you consider it is now worth 32 percent less. This is an example of foreign investor they claim to be courting.
This is one of the reason foreign investors are not trooping to Nigeria
stagger: Oga, that is the standard requirement whenever there is a delay. Any airline that claims it cannot lodge passengers on cancelled flights should not have an operational license.
If it's by this, there will be no local airlines operating in Nigeria again.
Contriman: and what would 50 to 60k do for people right now? The minimum wage should be around 500k now let the thieves in government cut down their salaries besides the best they do there is to steal
Lol... Dey play
Can your state government pay 500k as the minimum wage?
How many private firm can make 500k the minimum wage? Even the FG can't pay it. The new minimum wage won't be more than 60-65k.
uniquetechng: NNPCL said last year that they might import crude from Venezuela as our crude has been sold in advance, guess you were not aware of that.
uniquetechng: Dangote refinery will spend dollars to import crude, and the refinery will sell at current dollar rates so nothing changes.
you didn't answer my question. How many barrels of oil will Dangote refinery be consuming compared to what Nigeria is producing?
He's not only importing crude from abroad, he's also buying in Nigeria. NNPCL will deliver 2 million literes of crude to him this month and deliver 4 million litres to him next month. He's getting 2 million barrels from the USA this month too.
NNPCL don't import crude at all, if prices of refined crude from Dangote is too much, Marketers will buy from NNPCL refineries alone which will be cheaper. And Dangote will export his refined crude and earn dollars for Nigeria
Politics › Re: Sanwo-Olu Flags Off Market Trader Money, Distributes ₦750m To 15,000 Traders by Paraman: 8:58am On Feb 15, 2024
