According to a statement made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also referred to as gasoline, from the Dangote Refinery would start to flood the market on September 15, 2024.
This comes after the plant started refining gasoline earlier this week.
The NNPCL made it clear that market forces will henceforth set petrol pricing in a statement released on Thursday in Abuja by Chief Corporate Communications Officer Olufemi Soneye.
In response to rumors of price control, the statement restated that NNPCL would no longer be fixing fuel prices and that the downstream sector had been fully deregulated.
The illiquidity of foreign exchange (forex) had been a significant factor influencing PMS pricing variations, which are now governed by the free market as required by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), according to Adedapo Segun, Executive Vice President of Downstream at NNPCL.
Segun added that as additional gas stations reset their systems and start selling PMS, the current fuel shortage should subside in a few days.
About the supply of gasoline from the Dangote Refinery, Segun said that NNPCL was getting ready for the September 15 timeline when products would be available for distribution.
He reassured Nigerians that NNPCL is working closely with fuel marketers to ensure stations remain open and well-stocked to meet demand, while measures are being taken to prevent product diversions.
He cited Section 205 of the PIA, which established that petroleum prices are governed by market forces rather than government intervention. A significant impact of the exchange rate, he added.
