Olushola Omogbehin
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has moved to stop the continued importation of petrol into the country through a fresh lawsuit to challenge fuel import licences granted to oil marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Court documents showed that Dangote Refinery filed the suit against the Attorney General of the Federation, demanding for the reversal of import permits issued by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The company holds that the approvals violated an earlier court order that directed all parties to maintain the status quo till the determination of the case.
According to Dangote Refinery, the continued fuel importation into the country undermines its operations and also against provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.
It emphasised that petroleum products should only be imported when local production is insufficient to meet national demand.
However, fuel marketers and regulators have constantly defended the issuance of import licences, maintaining that imported petrol remains necessary to maintain adequate supply across the country and prevent shortages.
For many decades, Nigeria primarily relied on imported petrol because of the poor performance of state-owned refineries.
The Dangote Refinery, which was designed to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily, was expected to reduce the Nigeria’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products.
Meanwhile, the refinery had earlier accused Nigerian upstream oil producers for not supplying crude oil as required under the Petroleum Industry Act, thereby forcing the company to source large volumes of crude from international traders at higher costs.
Reliance on foreign traders however has significantly increased operational expenses due to additional premiums charged on crude purchases.
