The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says it issued oil licences to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and oil marketers to address petroleum product shortfalls in the country.
NMDPRA informed Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, through a counter affidavit filed and deposed to by Idris Musa, a senior regulatory officer in the authority, in response to a suit brought by Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE.
According to NAN, Dangote refinery filed the application, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, against NMDPRA and NNPC as 1st and 2nd defendants, on September 6, 2024.
Dangote refinery had requested a federal high court in Abuja to nullify the import licences issued to NNPC, Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, and four other oil companies.
The company asked the court to rule that NMDPRA violated Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by granting licences for petroleum product importation.
However, in an application dated and filed on December 13, 2024, NMDPRA said the current production of Dangote refinery is yet to meet the national daily petroleum products sufficiency requirement.
“Consequently, and in compliance with Section 317 [9] of the PIA (Petroleum Industry Act), the 1st defendant (NMDPRA) issued licences to import petroleum products to bridge product shortfalls to companies with good track records of international products trading,” Musa said.
Musa said the regulator cannot depend on the Dangote refinery’s claims on diesel and jet oil production capacity because it lacked scientific evidence.
Consequently, he said NMDPRA decided against giving Dangote refinery the sole right to cater for the Nigerian market and having considered the current state of affairs and oil production output at the preceding quarter before the filing of the suit, the regulator felt it will be premature and brash to suspend the importation of petroleum products for other entities.
