Energy: Dangote Refinery’s helpful but oil marketers want fuel imports –PETROAN

*Billy Gilly-Harris, National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, hails Dangote Refinery’s contributions, yet argues that market liberalisation will create healthy competition among players and eventually lead to product affordability for energy consumers

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

For healthy competition and protection of the downstream petroleum sector, Nigerian oil marketers have advocated liberalisation of the sector, so other players with oil import licences are able to import more Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Aldi called petrol into the country.

ConsumerConnect reports Billy Gillis-Harry, National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), stated this Tuesday, April 14, 2026, while featuring as a guest on a Channels TV programme, monitored in Lagos.

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Gillis-Harry noted that healthy competition in the downstream sector would further protect the Nigerian economy from petrol price shocks in regard to the ongoing wars in the Middle East.

Mr. Wale Edun, Honourable Minister for Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, also recently acknowledged that the United States-Israel war on Iran in the Middle East has put the West African country’s economy in shock.

It is noted the disruptive situation in the region has negatively affected the importation of petrol into the country.

The ongoing unsettling crisis in the Middle East has pushed petrol price hike above N1,200 per litre  domestically.

Likewise, as of March 2026, PMS prices stood at about N1,275 per litre locally, compared to an estimated import parity price of around N1,122 per litre.

This implies a cost differential of about 12 percent.

Gillis-Harry: Liberalisation of downstream petroleum sector essential

The National President of PETROAN also argued that market liberalisation will create healthy competition among players and eventually lead to product affordability.

He stated: “We do not want to recommend a total dependence on getting petroleum products from foreign. Importation should not be a permanent thing.

“Our position is that since we have a local refinery, such as the Dangote Refinery, which has helped advance the economy, there is still clearly a need to bring in additional product sources.

“This will help liberalise the market and ensure that it is competitive.”

Gillis-Harry explained: “The fact that we are depending on the Dangote Refinery today is a great pointer to where we can go.

“While we think that refining will increase in the country, temporarily, we should also allow imports to come in because that will help us to be able to compete favourably.”

PETROAN opposes World Bank on deepening fuel imports

Commenting on the recent suggestion to the Federal Government to deepen oil imports in view of the war-induced disruptions in the global supply chain,

Gillis-Harry rather faulted the Bank’s advice to Nigeria to accelerate fuel importation.

Earlier, the global lender in its April 2026 Nigeria Development Update (NDU), had announced a set of policy actions centred on removing supply-side constraints.

The World Bank, in the country’s report, warned that without decisive official intervention, inflationary pressures could intensify despite recent price moderation.

The Bank’s April NDU also identified restricted competition in the downstream petroleum sector and trade barriers on critical imports as key drivers of cost escalation in the economy.

The World Bank, therefore, recommended reinstating petrol import licences to reintroduce competition in the PMS market.

It is noted that pricing pressures have intensified, following the suspension of import permits earlier this year.

According to the Bank, the absence of competitive supply has contributed to a situation where domestic petrol prices have risen above import parity levels.

As regards the need for any external advice for Nigeria, the PETROAN Chief asserted: “I do not accept everything that the World Bank advises. We have enough intellectuals in this country.

“We have very great financial minds and economists who can give Nigeria the direction we can drive.

“Not that we are an island, but most of these advices are tinted, in my own opinion.”

Gillis-Harry equally faulted popular claims that Nigeria risks falling prey to substandard imported products all in the name of product importation.

He fired another salvo: “This is not correct, although I won’t say that imported is better than locally refined products.

“Rather, I will say that imported products will go through the necessary check processes of the regulator to ensure that the quality better.

“So, there will be no time that substandard products will be allowed into the system.”

In defence of NMDPRA

Justifying his position on the need to activate more fuel import licences, the National President of PETROAN stated: “Yes, there were times we suffered those kind of challenges but they are not permanent.

“I believe that NMDPRA has always risen to the occasion to make sure that those products are taken out of circulation, or repaired immediately to meet up to the standard.”

Gillis-Harry said: “PETROAN members do import. We also have receptacles that huge quantity of refined products.

“For us, buying from Dangote is good but having some alternatives is also helpful.”

He noted: “Our members cuts across all the stakeholders- whether major marketers, or depot marketers, and others.

“So, we import when the opportunity comes, for those who have been given licenses.

“And they won’t import substandard products. They must import what will be acceptable.”

Gillis-Harry reemphasised the importance of a liberalised downstream sector, adding that products affordability is key to energy consumers.

“We don’t want to depend on importation. We also want to support the local refinery which is the Dangote Refinery.

“But while we are doing that; to ensure we don’t have difficulty in supplies, liberalisation will o a lot of good for us.

“If you have five suppliers, there will be competition and products will be affordable.

Affordability is a good thing for Nigerians. Importation should not stop us from mounting pressure on NNPC to make our local refineries roar back to life,” stated he.

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