By Seun Ibiyemi
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has urged the Federal Government to immediately restore full commercial operations at the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, warning that the country’s energy security should not depend on a single supplier.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, PETROAN President, Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, said while the association supports the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector, government-owned refineries must resume operations to foster competition and strengthen the economy.
According to Gillis-Harry, “markets built around a single dominant supplier are markets built on borrowed stability,” stressing that the reopening of the nation’s refineries is “not an emergency measure alone, but a structural necessity.”
The association said recent developments in the downstream sector, particularly the decision by Dangote Petroleum Refinery to price petroleum products in United States dollars, have underscored the dangers of relying heavily on one major player.
PETROAN noted that although the refinery’s decision was a legitimate commercial choice, it exposed the vulnerabilities of a market whose pricing structure depends largely on the exchange-rate decisions of a single operator.
“The recent move by Dangote Petroleum Refinery to price its products in United States dollars was, on its face, a commercial choice within a company’s rights, but it has exposed, with unusual clarity, what happens when a domestic market’s price mechanism becomes dependent on a single actor’s exchange-rate calculus,” the association stated.
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It warned that petroleum marketers, who generate their revenues in naira, could face mounting challenges in sourcing foreign exchange to procure products, making pump prices more vulnerable to fluctuations in the exchange rate.
PETROAN argued that reviving the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries would provide a pricing benchmark, encourage healthy competition, ease pressure on the foreign exchange market, improve energy security and strengthen investor confidence in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum industry.
The association also called on the Federal Government to guarantee adequate crude oil supply to all domestic refiners and sustain policies that encourage investment in both modular and conventional refineries.
PETROAN maintained that Nigeria’s energy security should not be tied to the operations or pricing preferences of a single refinery, regardless of its size.
“A resilient petroleum sector needs public and private capacity operating side by side, competing on the same terms, in the same market,” the association added.
