Dare Babalola
The newly acquired Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks of the Dangote Refinery on Monday started loading petroleum products at the facility in preparation for direct delivery to filling stations across the country.
According to a report by Channels Television, the launch of the first batch of the trucks has kick-started, with trucks taking turns at the gantry to load products.
Earlier, officials of the refinery disclosed that the direct distribution would begin as part of activities marking one year since the refinery started petrol production. Initially scheduled to commence on August 15, the scheme was delayed due to logistics problems in China.
4,000 CNG trucks were ordered from China to be delivered in Lagos for Dangote’s direct fuel distribution. However, the plan could not materialise because there were not enough ships to bring the trucks to Nigeria from China.
With the available trucks, the company said it would roll out the logistics-free distribution programme today to significantly reduce fuel prices across Nigeria. From today, the initiative will see the gantry price of petrol reduced to N820 per litre, with corresponding lower pump prices in several key states.
Lagos and other South-Western states will see fuel retailing at N841 per litre, while Abuja, Rivers, Delta, Edo, and Kwara states will sell at N851 per litre. “The first phase of the deployment will cover the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos, Kwara, Delta, Edo, Rivers, and South-West states, with nationwide expansion planned as additional trucks are delivered,” the Dangote Group said in a statement
It added that the transition to CNG-powered transportation is expected to save the Nigerian economy over N1.8tn annually, saying the move is designed to cut fuel distribution costs, reduce pump prices, and ease inflationary pressures.
