The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has said it purchased Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from the Dangote Refinery at a rate of N898 per litre.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has said it purchased Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from the Dangote Refinery at a rate of N898 per litre.

This revelation comes amidst growing anticipation about the impact of the refinery?s operations on fuel prices in Nigeria.

Olufemi Soneye, a spokesman for NNPC disclosed the price during an interview with a local news outlet.

?We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today,? he stated. ?The claim that we purchased it at N760 per liter is incorrect. For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per liter,? Soneye said.

Soneye also disclosed that over 70 trucks had been loaded from the refinery as of the time of filing the report.

No fewer than 300 trucks from the national oil firm arrived at the refinery, located in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State, to lift the first batch of petrol.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had announced that NNPC would be the sole off-taker of refined petrol from Dangote refinery.

At the Technical Sub-Committee meeting on the sale of crude oil to local refineries on Friday, Edun, who was represented by the Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zaccheus Adedeji, had said diesel from the Dangote refinery would be sold in Naira to any interested off-taker.

Adedeji added that petrol would only be sold to NNPC which will then sell to various marketers.

He also announced the completion of all agreements and modalities for the implementation of the Federal Executive Council approval on the sale of crude to local refineries in Naira and the corresponding purchase of petroleum products in the same currency.

The Dangote Refinery, the largest in Africa, commenced operations earlier this year, raising hopes that it would help reduce Nigeria?s dependence on imported fuel and potentially lower fuel prices for consumers.

However, the confirmation of the higher-than-expected purchase price has sparked concerns about the potential impact on pump prices. (Pieced together from BusinesDay and Sunday PUNCH)