The President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, says the Dangote Refinery has become a vital safeguard for Nigeria’s fuel supply as rising global oil prices continue to create uncertainty in the international energy market.
Speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, March 11, Gillis-Harry said the refinery is playing a stabilising role for the country, especially at a time when tensions in the Middle East are affecting global crude oil supply and prices.
He noted that the establishment of the refinery has helped shield Nigeria from possible disruptions that could have arisen if the country remained fully dependent on imported petrol.
“As I said, let us be grateful first to God and Dangote for taking the investment foresight by establishing the Dangote Refinery. Going by the war, I don’t know what we would be doing today in Nigeria if we did not have that facility in place,” he said.
Gillis-Harry explained that petroleum marketers are already obtaining products from the refinery and expressed confidence that stronger collaboration among stakeholders in the downstream sector would enable the facility to fully meet domestic demand.
“Right now, marketers source all of our products from Dangote Refinery. Whether we are going to buy from depots that have not started selling to us in a very long time, we expect that with effective stakeholders’ collaboration, the Dangote Refinery’s objectives will be met.
“If Dangote has to have 100 per cent of the domestic retail outlets, it is only for the benefit of Nigeria,” he added.
READ ALSO: Dangote Refinery Slashes Petrol Price To ₦1,075 Per Litre
According to him, marketers had previously relied on various supply channels to meet local demand, but the ongoing conflict abroad has made petrol importation increasingly difficult.
“While we were talking about this a couple of months ago, we indeed had to have other sources of petrol supply. But today, that is not the case, especially with the war raging, making imports completely impossible until there is a resolution,” he said.
Gillis-Harry said retailers are primarily focused on maintaining a steady flow of petroleum products to consumers across the country.
“So, we are taking our products from Dangote, whether it’s 50 per cent or 100 per cent. To every retailer, our concern is to meet our objective of ensuring that we supply products to end-users. Our services grow the economy daily by providing those critical services,” he said.
Global oil prices have been volatile in recent days as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to affect supply expectations.
Brent crude briefly climbed above $100 per barrel before dropping to around $88 per barrel on Tuesday.
In Nigeria, the Dangote Refinery recently raised its gantry price to ₦1,175 per litre before reducing it to ₦1,075 per litre on Tuesday, marking a ₦100 drop.
Fuel stations across the country have since adjusted pump prices to between ₦1,200 and ₦1,300 per litre depending on location.