Officially Commences Production of Petrol, Diesel
By Halimah Olamide
“It is a day of celebration. It is a day to give thanks to God, to give thanks to Mr. President, and also to friends who have been supportive in ensuring that this refinery produces gasoline. We are now here.
Dangote Refinery has commenced its first production of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) from its 650,000 barrels per day Lagos-based refinery.
The President, of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, made the announcements while speaking with journalists on Tuesday.
According to him, the company’s petrol will substitute import dependence, bring down inflation, and stabilize the Naira against the dollar.
Dangote said the product is ready for use by Nigerians adding that the petrol and the diesel are of the highest standards Nigerians should be proud of.
He said the products can be at filling stations in the next 48 hours.
This was just as he said he had grown grey hairs over his establishment of the Refinery.
“The quality will match that of anywhere in the world.
“It is a day of celebration. It is a day to give thanks to God, to give thanks to Mr. President, and also to friends who have been supportive in ensuring that this refinery produces gasoline. We are now here.
As soon as we finalize with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, our product will start entering the market.”
Meanwhile, this is coming at a period where Nigerians are battling with sourcing for fuel across the country.
On Tuesday, most NNPC stations had adjusted their prices to N889 per liter. This was just as many stations were empty as there were no products to sell.
In Abuja, few filling stations that sold fuel had queues as long as three kilometres in some cases.
A correspondent of the NPO Reports who observed a filling station along the airport road said the queue was as long as three kilomteres while the filling station sold at N1,200 per liter.
Tuesday’s announcement was the highpoint of a long period of controversies over the quality of the fuel from the refinery.
There was a long drawn battle between Dangote and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum an agency of the Federal Government which claimed that the products were of lower quality.
Dangote had claimed that the blackmail against his company was because some high ranking officials of the NNPC have refinery in Malta.
NNPC CEO Mele Kyari had said he had no interest in any refinery in Malta.