The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has publicly opposed the Dangote Petroleum Refinery's renewed court action challenging the issuance of petrol import licences to independent marketers and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), saying the move threatens a healthy economic structure and could potentially expose Nigerian consumers to a monopoly market.
The National President of PETROAN, Dr. Billy Gillis Harry, stated the association's position while addressing journalists in Port Harcourt during the PETROAN Rivers State chapter election, which produced Pastor Eleto as Executive Chairman of the state chapter.
Dr. Gillis Harry said competition was central to product availability, price stability, and efficiency across the petroleum distribution chain, and warned that allowing any single operator to dominate the downstream sector, regardless of the scale of its investment or refining capacity, would be against the national interest.
He commended the Dangote Refinery for its contributions to local refining, job creation, and the reduction of Nigeria's fuel import dependence, but maintained that these contributions did not justify a market structure that shuts out other operators. He stressed that a downstream sector with multiple players operating under federal regulatory oversight remained essential for energy security and consumer protection.
PETROAN warned that monopoly conditions in the sector would lead to arbitrary pricing, limited consumer choice, reduced efficiency, and the risk of deliberate supply manipulation.
PETROAN Invokes PIA 2021 to Back NMDPRA's Licensing Authority
The association anchored its defence of the import licences in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, arguing that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) acted within its statutory powers in issuing them.
PETROAN cited Section 317 of the Act, which empowers the NMDPRA to authorise importation where domestic supply falls short, and Sections 32 and 33, which mandate the authority to ensure adequate petroleum product supply, regulate market efficiency, and safeguard consumer interests through competitive markets. The association also referenced Section 109, which requires the authority to take all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted petroleum product supply for domestic consumption.
On the basis of these provisions, PETROAN described the licences as not only lawful but as a regulatory obligation, one designed to prevent artificial scarcity and maintain market stability at a time when domestic refining capacity is yet to fully meet national demand.
What specific legal arguments the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is advancing before the court could not be independently confirmed at the time of this report. The refinery had not responded to a request for comment as of press time.
PETROAN urged all stakeholders across the oil and gas sector to prioritise national interest over individual market advantage, cautioning that the outcome of the dispute would have consequences for fuel availability and pricing for ordinary Nigerians. With the case now before the courts, the downstream sector awaits a judicial determination that could reshape the balance between local refining ambition and open market competition in Nigeria's post deregulation era.