A fresh crack has emerged in the downstream oil sector as members of the Jetties and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners of Nigeria distanced themselves from the position of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria on fuel importation, throwing their weight behind the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s push to halt fresh petrol imports.
The tank farm owners also called on the Federal Government and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to cancel existing import licences for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), insisting that local refining capacity can now meet domestic demand.
The position was contained in a communiqué issued by the association and made available to journalists through its Executive Secretary, Mr Olayiwola Temitope, on Tuesday.
The development comes amid rising tension in the downstream sector following a fresh lawsuit filed by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery challenging the issuance of petrol import licences to marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
The PUNCH reports that the NMDPRA recently approved licences for the importation of over 700,000 metric tonnes of petrol despite claims that the Dangote refinery now supplies more than 90 per cent of the nation’s daily PMS consumption.
