The Nigerian economy has been given a further fillip in its bid to become the world’s largest domestic fuel supply chain with the arrival of a fresh consignment of Premium Motor Spirit valued at 20,000 metric tonnes for Techno Oil from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The coastal lifting was completed on Saturday, as shown by shipping data made exclusively available by Petroleumprice.ng, with the vessel (Matrix S Ilu) landing at the company’s jetty in Kirikiri, Lagos, where product discharge operation is continuing.
The latest shipment further cements the position of Techno Oil in Nigeria’s down stream petroleum market and reinforces the importance it plays among the 20 approved marketers that are permitted to lift petroleum products directly from the Dangote Refinery.
The trendy shift of locally refined PMS to the coast is slowly changing the country’s fuel supply pattern, alleviating supply pressure from importation and enhancing fuel circulation across the country, industry analysts say.
Market operators said they had observed that major marketers like Techno Oil have already been lifting product supply, which is now leading to better availability of fuels in major demand centres and helping address the downstream sector’s supply instability.
The development is also indicative of the increasing operational presence of the Dangote Refinery on the Nigerian energy market, with the marketers’ increased dependence on locally refined products to cater for the ever-growing domestic demand.
The partnership between the domestic refiners and the licensed marketers should go a long way towards strengthening long-term energy security, reduce potential disruptions to energy supply, and lower the country’s reliance on overseas fuel markets.
The current cargo will also be expected to play a part in achieving a more streamlined logistics operation and improved access to petroleum products for the retailers, businesses and end-users of the country across various regions.
According to industry analysts, the change to a more self-sustaining petroleum supply structure in Nigeria could be picking up pace in the next few months as more marketers become active in coastal lifting arrangements.
