Major Nigerian petroleum marketers, including Conoil PLC and Eterna PLC, have partnered with Dangote Petroleum Refinery for the logistics-free fuel distribution scheme.

The Dangote Group announced this in a post on its social media handles on Monday.

The collaboration, which also involved players like Golden Super, Nepal Energies, Kifayat Global Energy, and Riquest and Gas, aims to slash logistics costs for fuel stations and drive down pump prices for consumers nationwide.

The initiative promises seamless, no-cost transport of refined petrol from Dangote’s 650,000-barrel-per-day facility in Lekki to participating stations and bulk buyers.

“Join leading marketers like Conoil PLC, Eterna PLC, Golden Super, Nepal Energies, Kifayat Global Energy, and Riquest and Gas to enjoy the benefits of free delivery and offer Nigerians lower pump prices,” the company declared.

The programme is expected to kick off in 11 states—Lagos, Ekiti, Abuja, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Kwara, Delta, Rivers, and Edo—with expansion slated for the near future.

Filling station owners are encouraged to register promptly to secure their spot, transforming supply chains by eliminating delivery fees that often inflate retail costs.

The Dangote refinery rolled out over 1,000 compressed natural gas-powered trucks for the free delivery scheme, sparking reactions from tanker drivers, depot owners and oil suppliers.

It was reported that bulk fuel consumers and filling stations are dumping their middlemen suppliers for Dangote’s free delivery.

The President of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, Yusuf Othman, who condemned the free delivery of fuel to filling stations, telecom companies, and other bulk users, said buyers have now jettisoned the contracts signed with his members to receive free delivery from Dangote.

The NARTO president explained that his members have up to 30,000 trucks and cannot do the business of fuel distribution free of charge.

“We have our members who have signed agreements with so many companies.

Some are even informal agreements, but we have formal agreements signed, and by that, we used those formal agreements to collect bank facilities to buy trucks and serve those companies. But now, those agreements are at stake because a big brother is coming to supply directly to them, not minding the fact that they have signed agreements with us.

“Though they have not officially informed us, and it’s not officially confirmed, the information available to us showed that this is ongoing, and as such, our trucks will not be used again. That is one of the reasons why so many of our members are complaining. If I sign an agreement with you for service by virtue of my 10 trucks, and somebody somewhere comes to do the same thing for you for free, it’s a very delicate situation.

“So, that is one of the reasons why we are calling on the Federal Government, especially the NMDPRA, which has told all of us clearly that this act is an illegal act by virtue of Section 212 of the PIA,” he said.

Before Dangote asked filling stations and bulk buyers to register for direct fuel delivery, some middlemen bought from refineries or depot owners and resold to bulk users. However, the Dangote free fuel distribution scheme appears to have halted the old order, as the buyers now apply for direct supply to save costs. (PUNCH)