September 15, 2024
By Okafor Joseph

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has mobilized over 100 trucks to the Dangote Refinery ahead of the planned fuel loading set for Sunday. The announcement was made in a brief statement accompanied by images showing the fleet of trucks stationed at the refinery, located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.

NNPCL confirmed the deployment with the statement: “In preparation for the Dangote Refinery’s scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, September 15, 2024, NNPC Ltd. has been mobilizing trucks to the refinery’s fuel loading gantry in Ibeju-Lekki. As of Saturday afternoon, NNPC Ltd. had deployed over 100 trucks, with hundreds more en route.”

The Nigerian government had previously announced that petrol supply from the Dangote Refinery would commence on September 15, following successful negotiations regarding pricing and supply agreements. This was revealed on Friday by Zacch Adedeji, Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and member of the Presidential Committee on the Sale of Crude Oil and Refined Products.

According to Adedeji, NNPCL will be the sole off-taker of petrol from the refinery, with other marketers expected to source fuel from the state-owned oil company. In addition, NNPCL will begin supplying 385,000 barrels of crude oil per day to the refinery starting October 1, 2024, with payments to be made in Naira.

The Dangote Refinery, owned by Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, has been hailed as a transformative project for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. With a capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily, the refinery is poised to meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel needs while potentially exporting excess production.

This deployment of NNPC trucks signals the beginning of a new phase in Nigeria’s fuel supply chain, with the Dangote Refinery expected to play a central role in stabilizing the country’s energy market.