The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has commenced registration of distributors for its products, a statement by the outfit said on Friday in Lagos.

According to the statement, members of three prominent associations that constitute 75 per cent of the total market in Nigeria have been registered.

The associations are the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), and the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN).

The company is also considering other marketers that have signified interest in the lifting and distribution of its petroleum products in the country, the statement said.

It quoted the executive secretary, DAPPMAN, Olufemi Adewole, as saying that the association had commenced discussions with Dangote Petroleum Refinery regarding the lifting and distribution of refined petroleum products.

DAPPMAN, it said, had discussed with Dangote last year during a meeting between its chairman, Dame Winifred Akpani, 2nd Vice Chairman, Mahmud Tukur and the president of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.

“The meeting was to explore areas of collaboration between the refinery and DAPPMAN members whose nationwide presence will be critical in distributing products from the refinery to the consumers,” it said.

It added that the refining of petroleum products from Dangote Refinery would accelerate Nigeria’s economic development and provide DAPPMAN members with seamless access to refined petroleum products.

In the same vein, national vice president of IPMAN, Hammed Fasola, said the association had declared its intention to lift and distribute petroleum products from Dangote Refinery.

“We have already established a business relationship with Dangote Refinery. We believe that the relationship is going to be a win-win one.

“Our association owns 80 per cent of the retail outlets in the country and we have all it takes to ensure smooth distribution of petroleum products from Dangote Refinery across the country,” the statement quoted Mr Fasola as saying.

On his part, the executive secretary of MOMAN, Clement Isong, confirmed that members had registered with Dangote Petroleum Refinery to become marketers of its products.

“I confirm that my members have registered with them. We were waiting for the production to start and now it has started; we shall soon start discussing the terms,” Mr Isong was quoted as saying.

The statement said that the refinery was designed for 100 per cent Nigerian crude, with the flexibility to process other crudes.

It said that the refinery could load 2,900 trucks a day at its truck-loading gantries.

(NAN)