Business

Oil Marketers and Dangote Battle in Court Over Import Licences

Published

2 years ago

November 7, 2024

589 Views

Three oil marketers, AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, have asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.

The marketers, in a joint counter affidavit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, and dated November 5, 2024, a response to an originating summon filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, argued that granting the application of refinery would spell doom for the country’s oil sector.

They emphasised that the plan to monopolise the oil sector is a recipe for disaster in the country.

Dangote refinery in its originating summon dated September 6, 2024, had sued Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited as 1st to 7th defendants respectively.

The refinery prayed the court to declare that NMDPRA was in violation of Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by issuing licenses for the importation of petroleum products.

It stated that such licenses should only be issued in circumstances where there is a petroleum product shortfall.

It also urged the court to declare that NMDPRA is in violation of its statutory responsibilities under the PIA for not encouraging local refineries such as the company.

Shafa, A. A. Rano, and Matrix Petroleum, however, responded that Dangote refinery does not produce adequate petroleum products for the daily consumption of Nigerians.

They noted that the plaintiff had not placed anything before the court to prove the contrary.

They argued that they are well qualified and entitled to be issued an import licence by NMDPRA to import petroleum products.

They argued that they are well qualified and entitled to be issued an import licence by NMDPRA to import petroleum products in Nigeria within the meaning of Section 317(9) of the PIA.

They also noted that they are fully qualified for the issuance of the import licences issued to them by the 1st defendant, as they duly met all the legal requirements for the issuance of such import licences, before the same were issued to them.

“The import licences lawfully and validly issued to the defendants did not in any way whatsoever, cripple the plaintiff’s business or its refinery.

“The import licenses issued to the defendants by the 1st defendant are in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, and other relevant laws,” they contended.

They insisted that giving Dangote Refinery the power of monopoly in Nigeria’s petroleum industry as it sought in the instant suit, would kill competitive pricing of petroleum products in the country.

Related Topics:Dangote Featured Oil importation Oil marketers

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Business

Meta set to charge WhatsApp Business messages from October 1

For example, a Nigerian fintech company sending 500,000 chargeable utility messages could incur about $5,050 in fees from Meta alone, excluding charges that may come from third-party providers or software platforms used to manage the messaging service.

Published

5 hours ago

August 28, 2026

OCHEFA

14 Views

Businesses using Meta’s WhatsApp Business Platform will begin paying for certain messages sent to customers from October 1, 2026, under a new pricing structure announced by the company.

The change applies to organisations that use the WhatsApp Business Platform, formerly known as the WhatsApp Business API, to manage customer communication on a large scale.

Regular WhatsApp users and small businesses using the standard WhatsApp Business app are not the main targets of the new charges.

Under the revised system, the amount businesses pay will depend on the type of message being sent.

Utility messages, including payment alerts, order confirmations and other service-related updates, will cost about $0.0101 per message, while marketing messages will attract a higher fee of approximately $0.062 each.

Although the individual charges appear relatively small, companies that send large volumes of messages could see their communication expenses rise significantly.

Business

Dangote Refinery Suspends Petrol Sales To Lagos Depots

Dangote Refinery is prioritising markets where imported products are either unavailable or less dominant, rather than adding more supply to Lagos, which receives substantial volumes of imported petrol.

Published

12 hours ago

August 28, 2026

OCHEFA

16 Views

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has suspended coastal sales of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to depot owners and importers in Lagos.

People familiar with the refinery’s operations said that the move is deliberate, aimed at redirecting locally refined petrol to areas where imported supply is scarce.

The suspension is ongoing. A source said: “The suspension of coastal sales to Lagos is still ongoing. It is aimed at redirecting products to locations where imported products are unavailable. Lagos has quite some imported petrol.”

The strategy is intended to ensure locally refined petrol reaches areas where it is most needed.

The decision comes amid concerns at the refinery over the volume of imported petrol entering Nigeria.

According to data available to the refinery, imported PMS accounted for about 43 per cent of total petrol supplied into Nigeria in July

Business

Naira Exchange Rates Friday, August 28

Today, the Naira Black Market exchange rate for 1 Great British Pound (GBP) is 1900 Naira. This means that you can get 1900 Naira for every 1 Pound that you exchange.

How much is 100 pounds in naira today?
At the current black market rate of 1900 per pound, 100 British Pounds = 190,000 Naira.