If you are in the business of importing crude refined products, there is a disintermediation on the way. Yes, Dangote Refinery is pushing that “license to import any product shortfalls should be assigned only to companies with active refining licenses. Import volume to be allocated between participants based on their respective production in the preceding quarter. ’’
Punch had reported that Dangote Group has desired for inclusion in the Petroleum Industry Bill a requirement that the license to import petroleum products should be given only to companies with active refining licenses. The company does think that by having that requirement, companies will invest in local refining business.
But that is a very tough one since some people can actually get licenses just for the rights to import fuel. I mean, if Dangote Refinery thinks that will stop traders, they would be shocked. As things stand, the House of Representatives is investigating the alleged missing of “5.2 million barrels of crude oil allocated to local refineries under the Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) – DSDP allows sales of crude oil to refiners, who will in turn supply the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with an equivalent worth of petroleum products’, Premium Times reports.
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
So, the problem is not just refiners importing, the problem is that some could become exporters. Yes, they get the local crude oil and they simply export it! The Petroleum Industry Bill must fix these loopholes with criminal penalties.
Yet, from Dangote Refinery to local refiners, this petroleum business should not be seen as a long-term playbook. The Vice President was forced to make a case that the European Union should continue to fund gas projects in Nigeria as the region plans to freeze such projects globally. Simply, you can wake up in the morning and observe that investors have pulled funds as the tobacco-lization of fossil fuels continues.
The forthcoming deployment of the five million solar power connections, targeting 25 million households across the country under the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), reaffirms Nigeria’s commitment to the global green energy initiative.
“A just transition to net-zero emissions, probably one where gas as a fossil fuel is still supported, especially for those of us in this part of the world, is absolutely important, especially as it will enable us to phase-out more polluting fuels such as coal and diesel,” according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Mr Osinbajo made the submissions Tuesday during a meeting with a delegation of the European Union (EU) led by its Executive Vice President, Valdis Dombrovskis, maintaining the advocacy that the international community should preserve financing for gas projects in Nigeria and other developing countries, during the transition to net-zero emission.
---
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA (Feb 10 - May 3, 2025), and join Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe and our global faculty; click here.
So, with the giant refinery in place, we still need to issue licences to refined product importers? What if importation is more lucrative, why won’t the licence holders focus on importation rather risking money on refineries?
The criminal mindset in the land seems to be inborn, it’s not learned at all, it’s the default state.
This is how we turned exchange regime into a criminal enterprise, with all the fraud perpetrated in petrol subsidy regime, and the subsequent hope that the new refinery would heal the wounds; even before the refinery begins operation, we are already scheming for special treatment?
Government doesn’t need to issue import licence to anyone, whether codenamed as refiner or trader, rather the focus must be to ensure that we refine more than enough locally, that way we won’t have any need to import. How difficult is that?
We thought that being self-sufficient in cement production would make it cheaper and strengthen naira, but it never happened. We thought that eating local rice would make it cheaper and strengthen naira too, but it never happened. We will soon refine petrol locally, but will be scratching our heads to know the benefits.
What moral code do Nigerians operate with? Fake humans everywhere.