The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called for the free trade of Dangote Refinery products across Africa, stressing that it will be better for the country and the continent at large.
PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Nairametrics on Tuesday on the sidelines of the second West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference in Abuja.
Nairametrics previously reported that at the opening session of the conference on Monday, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) called for a functioning West African fuel market amid regional supply chains that are being fundamentally reshaped by the Dangote Refinery.
When asked for his view of the conference, Osifo told Nairametrics that this kind of forum provides opportunities for stakeholders to “remove those things that are hindering” an efficient supply of fuel.
“For example, you are exporting products from Nigeria to Ghana, you have to pay several taxes and several duties. But in Europe, they have a single market; so for us, even if you extend it (single fuel market) to the entire Africa, it is even better. The more we can inter-trade, most especially on energy, the more we have better energy security.
“Dangote Refinery should be able to send its products from Nigeria to Togo, from Togo to Angola and all that. The more we open the boundary, the better for us,” he said.
Asked to react to calls for the expansion of Nigeria’s refinery capacity and the entry of more investors, he responded in the affirmative.
According to him, “the more we have competition, the better for the industry.”
He explained that if stakeholders in the region open up the energy sector, there will be more refineries and more people investing in the sector.
He stressed that more investments in Nigeria’s refining capacity will be better for the country because, according to him, competition will bring down the price of petroleum products.
