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  • Petrol Price Increased To N264.29 in March – NBS

    Petrol Price Increased To N264.29 in March – NBS

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that the average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in March 2023 was N264.29, which is an increase of 42.63 per cent relative to the value recorded in March 2022 (N185.30).

    According to the NBS report, comparing the average price value with the previous month (i.e. February 2023), the average retail price of PMS increased by 0.20 per cent from N263.76.

    The report states;

    On state profile analysis, Imo State had the highest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) with N332.67, followed by Taraba with N330.00 and Borno with N324.55. On the other hand, Benue recorded the lowest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) with N195.00, followed by Plateau with N196.79 and Nasarawa with N197.50. In addition, analysis by zone showed that the South-East recorded the highest average retail price in March 2023 with N306.00, while the North-Central had the lowest with N205.10.

    The average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 0.22 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N4,600.57 recorded in February 2023 to N4,610.48 in March 2023. On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 22.03 per cent from N3,778.30 in March 2022.

    “On State profile analysis, Kwara recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N4,962.87, followed by Abuja with N4,940.00, and Adamawa with N4,915.00. On the other hand, Rivers State recorded the lowest price with N4,204.45, followed by Abia State and Anambra State with N4,220.15 and N4,232.75, respectively,” it stated.

  • Petrol Scarcity Persists as DSS Ultimatum Ends

    Petrol Scarcity Persists as DSS Ultimatum Ends

    Despite the Department of State Services (DSS) forty-eight hours ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and other stakeholders in the oil sector to resolve and end the current fuel crisis, fuel queues have persisted in Plateau, Kaduna, Kogi, Kano states, and other parts of the country.

    Recall, the secret service police vowed to go after them if queues did not disappear after 48 hours.
    DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, had announced the ultimatum in Abuja while addressing reporters after the Director-General of DSS, Yusuf Bichi, met with the stakeholders in the industry.

    Reports gathered have indicated that long queues were yet to disappear in major cities, making black marketers have a field day, selling the commodity for as much as N350 per litre.

    In earlier report, Economic Confidential had revealed that in Kano State, most filling stations did not dispense petrol and the few stations selling sold it for N310 a litre. While other stations in the state sold a litre for N280 to N290.

    In Lokoja, Kogi State, motorists were seen on long queues at fuel stations; while in Kaduna and Jos, major fuel stations were not dispensing enabling black market to thrive.

    Although Abuja and Lagos queues are dispersing but persisted in suburbs with prices ranging from N180, N200 to N220 a litre.

    The chairman, Northern Independent Petroleum Marketers Forum, Musa Yahaya Maikifi, said the private depot price was above N200, prompting marketers to sell above the rate in Kano and other states.

    He said, “Provided we’re not refining the fuel in our country and the NNPC is using dollars to import the fuel, we cannot end the fuel crisis in Nigeria”.

    The chairman, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Olumide Adeosun, urged the federal government to dialogue and negotiate with citizens on the implementation of price deregulation.

    He said, “Having subsidized Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol for so long, Nigerian institutions now have a diminished capacity to deal with the current local energy crisis. Disruption in any part of the supply chain causes ripple effects and results in queues at stations”.

    Meanwhile, The DSS in a secrete response assured that they have commenced intelligence gathering called “overt and covert operations” to address the situation and will ensure that person(s) caught in discrepancies will pay dearly.

  • Queues persist as petrol stock dips by 5.48m litres

    Queues persist as petrol stock dips by 5.48m litres

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s stock of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, dipped by 5,481,239 litres, according to industry data released on Tuesday.

    Although the drop in PMS stock was marginal, queues for petrol persisted in Abuja, Nasarawa, Niger and some other northern states.

    Figures obtained from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority on Tuesday indicated that the total PMS stock of NNPC as at November 6, 2022 was 1,912,725,464 litres.

    This dipped to 1,907,244,225 litres on November 7, 2022, indicating a drop of 5,481,239 litres, while the total days’ sufficiency was 30.84, according to the NMDPRA data as at November 7

    NNPC has remained the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria for several years running. Other marketers halted petrol imports due to their inability to access foreign exchange without hassles.

    However, the queues for petrol in many northern states did not abate on Tuesday despite the claims by NMDPRA that there were over 30 days’ sufficiency, rather a lot of filling stations were shut due to lack of products to dispense.

    It was reported on Tuesday that the cost of petrol had risen to as high as N200/litre at depots.

    The report stated that PMS cost, which was about N178 to N185/litre recently, was jerked up by private depot owners due to the drop in supply by the NNPC, among other operational concerns.

    Both the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Petroleum Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria had told our correspondent that tankers were now spending more than one week on queues for petrol at depots.

    This, they said, had led to empty filling stations nationwide, a development that had caused chaos at some of the few outlets that dispensed petrol in Abuja, Nasarawa, Niger and neighbouring states.

    The National Vice President, IPMAN, Abubakar Maigandi, confirmed the reduction in supply by NNPC and the hike in the ex-depot price of petrol at depots in Lagos and Warri, Delta State.

  • Dangote refinery: Petrol Importations will end by 2023 — NNPC Boss

    Dangote refinery: Petrol Importations will end by 2023 — NNPC Boss

    The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, has said that the country would stop importing petroleum products by 2023.

    Kyari disclosed this during a press briefing at the state house in Abuja, on Tuesday.

    Kyari, who spoke during the weekly Ministerial Briefing, hosted by the Presidential Communication Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, noted that the NNPC had the right to 20 per cent of production from the Dangote refinery.

    He said the Dangote refinery which would begin next year would augment the output from state-owned refineries to meet Nigerians’ demand for petroleum products.

    “The NNPC owns 20 per cent equity in the Dangote refinery and not only that, and we’re very proud of this. We’re not only owning 20% equity, we have the first right of refusal to supply crude oil to that plant. But we saw this energy transition challenge coming we knew at that time will come when you will look for people who will buy your crude oil you will not find and that means that we have locked down the ability to sell crude oil for 330,000 barrels minimum by right for the next 20 years.

    “Also, by right also we have access to 20% of the production from that plant. That means that whatever it does, you know we have a right to take 20 per cent of that production as part of our equity and this refinery will come on stream latest by the middle of next year.

    “Projection is the first quarter, but we think that it can come up latest by the middle of next year. If it does, this refinery alone, because it has a 650,000 per barrel capacity and different technology, means that it can crack the crude in a manner that you can have more gasoline than a typical refinery.

    “That means that the refinery has the ability to produce up to 50 million litres of PMS. So, the combination of that and our ability to bring back our refinery will completely eliminate any potential petroleum product into this country next year. You will not see any importation into this country next year. This is very practical. This is possible,” Kyari said.

    “As a matter of fact, when we’re done with our refineries and the Dangote Refinery, very many small initiatives that we are doing; small, modular, condenser refineries that we’re building, if that happens, and we are very optimistic it will happen, you will see that this country will now be a net exporter, we hope of export of petroleum products, not just to the west African sub-region, but to the rest of the world.

    “This will happen, and the flow of supply will change. By the middle of next year, it will change. So, you will have no need for the importation of petroleum products into this country by the middle of next year,” Kyari added.

  • Hike in price of petrol in Akwa

    Hike in price of petrol in Akwa

    Our correspondent on Tuesday who monitored the situation in the area said, independent marketers in Akwa sells between N200 and N210 per liter in Awka and it’s environs and most of the independent marketers had the product with no queues. However at the NNPC mega station sells at official price N162.50, with a little queue.

    The Acting Director, Public Complaints Commission ( PCC) in Anambra, Mr. Charles Ekwunife, disclosed that his office has been getting complaints about the hike in the price of petrol.

    Ekwunife speaking on behalf of the Federal Commissioner of PCC Anambra state, Mrs Emelda Okoli, said the complaints were taken with all seriousness, because it was economic injustice against the people, although the Commission lacked the power to act on any complain, hence, called other regulatory authorities to stop the act.

    Chairman of Petroleum Dealers Association of Nigeria Anambra state, Mr Cletus Obiokafor, said marketers selling at N200 and above are those with old stock, he however appealed to the people to be patient.

  • NNPC Apologises To Nigerians Over Toxic Petrol, Says Fuel Scarcity To End Soon

    NNPC Apologises To Nigerians Over Toxic Petrol, Says Fuel Scarcity To End Soon

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has apologised to Nigerians for the importation of toxic Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, into the country.

    It also regretted the damage done to the vehicles of motorists by the toxic petrol, and the resulting scarcity and long queues at filling stations in various parts of the country.

    NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD), Mele Kyari, tendered the apology on Wednesday during an interaction with the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the importation of the adulterated fuel into the country.

    He stressed that the company was not aware of the presence of methanol in the imported fuel and has taken measures to manage the situation.

    Kyari explained that the loading terminal from where the toxic petrol was brought into the country has been supplying gasoline for a very long time, as it was a major terminal supplying fuel not only to West Africa but many countries in Europe.

    He assured Nigerians that about 2.1 billion litres of the product would have been injected into the system before the end of the month.

    The NNPC chief asked them to avoid panic-buying of fuel, saying the distribution of the product would normalise in the weeks ahead.

    Kyari appeared before the lawmakers amid growing concerns over fuel scarcity which has worsened in Abuja, Lagos, and some parts of the country where hundreds of motorists were left stranded on long fuel queues.

    As part of measures to address the situation, the company directed all its depots and outlets to begin 24 hours operations across the country.

    NNPC Group Executive Director (Downstream), Mr Adetunji Adeyemi, who briefed reporters on Tuesday in Abuja, stated that the company was already accelerating petrol distribution.

    Stressing that several million litres of petrol were in stock, he revealed that the NNPC was expecting about 2.3 billion litres of petrol in the country by the end of the month.

    Adeyemi said the company has constituted a monitoring team with the support of the authority and other security agencies to ensure the smooth distribution of petrol nationwide.

  • Fuel supply: Hope rises as 23 ships discharge petrol, others at Lagos ports

    Fuel supply: Hope rises as 23 ships discharge petrol, others at Lagos ports

    By Becky Adi

    The Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, on Tuesday said that 23 ships had arrived the Lagos Port Complex and were discharging petrol and other items.

    The NPA, in its ”Daily Shipping Position”, said listed other items being discharged as automobile gasoline, bulk wheat, general cargo, container, frozen fish, plaster, trucks and bulk salt.

    The authority said that 14 other ships were expected to arrive the port between Feb. 15 to Feb. 22, laden with more fuel, butane gas and others.

    It said that the other items include bulk wheat, general cargo, frozen fish, bulk sugar and containers.

    The “Shipping Position” indicated that four other ships had arrived the port, waiting to berth with general cargo and bulk sugar.

  • Bad fuel: Marketers, others beg FG to flood market with petrol

    Bad fuel: Marketers, others beg FG to flood market with petrol

    By Isaac Kertyo

    Marketers and other stakeholders yesterday pleaded with the Federal Government to flood the domestic market with adequate petrol to eliminate ongoing scarcity.

    The government had last week, reassured Nigerians of its capacity to restore sanity in the supply and distribution of quality Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, across the country within a short period.

    It had also disclosed at the end of a meeting with some oil marketers, to resolve the issues generated by the recent supply and discharge of methanol blended petrol in some depots.

    But the operators, including marketers and experts, who spoke with Vanguard in different interviews, said the nation required the injection of commercial supplies to meet demand.

    Specifically, the National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, said: “The shortfall is the major factor for the instability. The Federal Government should work towards flooding the domestic market with adequate petrol. Once the domestic market is flooded, the long queues and other issues would disappear.

    “For many days, our members have made frantic efforts to buy the product from depot owners. They have not been able to meet our demand, apparently because of limited stocks. The only way to ameliorate the situation is to flood the market with adequate petrol.”

    Sharp practices

    As a result of the shortage, some filling stations have embarked on sharp practices, including the retailing of the product at between N200 and N300 per litre at various locations in such areas as Festac, Amuwo-Odofin, Ago, Orile in Lagos.

    Situation report

    However, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, held a crucial meeting with stakeholders, yesterday, to review the situation and adopt new measures to tackle them.

    It was gathered that the stakeholders, including major marketers and depot owners, who noted the existence of bad petrol, long queues, illegal hawking of the product at high prices, agreed that much needed to be done.

    Rising from the meeting, stakeholders also urged the government to import enough cargoes in order to eliminate the long queues in some parts of the nation, especially Abuja, Lagos, Oyo and Ogun states.

    MOMAN reacts

    Commenting on the present situation, the President, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Olumide Adeosun, said: “The reality of the matter is that there have been a constraint on supply, but there is a great effort in making sure that there is a consistent amount of vessel with petrol coming into the country.

    “There is a clear aggregation and segregation of the contaminated product. There is a great amount of scrutiny over the quality of products imported into the country.

    “As of today, we have been able to complete full remediation which involves the blending and recertifying of about 10 per cent of the overall contaminated petrol imported into the country.

    “We all have a role to play in addressing this situation before us, as something that we do not want to happen has happened. Of course, there will be a break in supply because there is an interruption in supply in the past two weeks.

    “A large portion of what comes to the major marketers is moved to the independent marketers. I can say for sure now that there are three to four independent marketers I know that have a lot of products in their tank.

    “To be honest, as part of the steering committee which was set up last week, I must confess, the regulators are working tirelessly to wet Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, among other cities. Racketeering and profiteering are not being done by marketers, but persons around these stations are the ones creating the additional tension in supply.”

    Imported petrol

    Meanwhile, not fewer than 11 ships laden with petroleum products are currently waiting at the high sea to berth at Lagos ports.

    According to the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, shipping position, of the 11 vessels, seven are carrying petrol; two Automated Gas Oil (diesel), one of Jet A1 (aviation fuel) and one of butane gas.

    The vessels are carrying 20,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) of petrol each, 10,000mt of diesel, 5,500mt of Jet A1 and 6,000mt of Butane gas.

    The tanker vessels are marked “stemmed” and currently waiting at the Lagos anchorage.

    The shipping position also showed that no petroleum product is expected into the country through Lagos port between February 11 and 27, 2022, apart from those already on the anchorage.

  • Fuel price May Rise To N340 Per Litre In 2022 – NNPC

    Fuel price May Rise To N340 Per Litre In 2022 – NNPC

    Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), has hinted that a litre of fuel may sell between N320 and N340 in 2022.

    He said this during the presentation of the World Bank Nigeria Development Update, November 2021 edition titled “Time for Business Unusual” in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Kyari said fuel subsidy removal would definitely be achieved in 2022.

    He said that the law provides that by the end of February 2022, the nation should be out of the subsidy regime.

    “There will be no provision for it legally in our system, but I am also sure you will appreciate that government has a bigger social responsibility to cater for the ordinary and therefore engage in a process that will ensure that we exit in the most subtle and easy manner,” he said.

    On the hike in prices of cooking gas, he said that it was a demand and supply issue as there was a global crunch on supply of gas and many countries were now threatened by lack of supply in December.

    He added that the product was not under any subsidy regime and therefore irrespective of where it was produced, would follow the global trend.

    Kyari, however, assured that the company was working on increasing local production to meet the needs of consumers.

    Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had at the event said Nigeria will remove fuel subsidy by 2022 and substitute the subsidy with N5000-a-month transportation grant to the poorest Nigerians.

    The minister said the grant will be distributed to about 30 to 40 million Nigerians who make up the poorest population of the country.

    She said: “The subsidies regime in the oil sector remains unsustainable and economically disingenuous.

    “Ahead of the target date of mid-2022 for the complete elimination of fuel subsidies, we are working with our partners on measures to cushion potential negative impact of the removal of the subsidies on the most vulnerable at the bottom 40% of the population.

    “One of such measures would be to institute a monthly transport subsidy in the form of cash transfer of N5,000 to between 30 – 40 million deserving Nigerians.”

  • Nigeria Spends 40% of FX on Importation of Petrol, Others – Emefiele

    Nigeria Spends 40% of FX on Importation of Petrol, Others – Emefiele

    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday lamented that the country spends almost 40 per cent of its scarce foreign exchange (FX) on the importation of petroleum products as well as petrochemicals, which continues to put pressure on the naira exchange rate.

    Speaking during a media briefing on the sidelines of the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank annual meetings in Washington DC, Emefiele, however, expressed optimism that once the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Plant commence operations around July next year, the country would be in a position to be able to save 40 per cent of the FX it spends on the importation of petroleum products as well as petrochemicals.

    This, he also pointed out would put the central bank in a better position to float the naira.
    “On the Dangote Refinery, by the time it begins production latest July next year, it is going to be a major source to save forex for Nigeria. Right now, the overall forex we spend on imported items, the importation of petroleum products consumes close to 30 per cent.

    “By the time you add diesel, aviation fuel, petrol and the rest of that which makes up the 30 per cent, the Dangote Refinery has the capacity to produce 650,000 barrels per day. There is a domestic component that is about 455,000 barrels. Even if the 455,000 is what is sold to Dangote in naira alone, it is going to be a major forex savings for Nigeria,” he explained.

    Responding to a question, the CBN governor revealed that the total cost of the Dangote Refinery project was about $17.5 billion and the total equity from the Dangote Group in the project was $9 billion.
    So, less than $9 billion was contributed by a combination of foreign and local banks and the CBN, he disclosed.

    “So, you are looking at a transaction where the leverage is almost one-to-one. We think that is going to be a major FX saver for our country and we would export those refined products.
    “If you look at the cost of freight alone, it is a major saving for Nigeria. That is because if we have to go to Europe or other parts of the world to bring in petroleum products where we pay heavily in freight and in stocking those products in the high sea before we offload them, Nigerians would benefit a lot from the Dangote Refinery,” he added.

    Emefiele pointed out that the project was one of Nigeria’s backward integration programmes, saying the country was proud that it was coming to light.

    “Indeed, we know that refineries abroad are already scared because they know the market they would lose because Nigeria will prefer to patronise Dangote Refinery instead of foreign refined petroleum products.

    “On the petrochemical, it is also expected to commence about same period next. That petrochemical plant will be producing 900,000 tonnnes of polyethylene and polypropylene granules. Nigeria’s annual consumption here is less than 200,000.

    “What does that mean? It is going to save five per cent of our imports. If you save five per cent of your imports and another 30 per cent in petroleum products and then in fertliser where we would save about two per cent of our imports, we are moving close to saving 40 per cent of the country’s imports.

    “By that time, you will see what we would be doing when people talk about floating the naira, and then let’s see how the currency will depreciate,” he added.
    Speaking further, Emefiele told foreign investors that the federal government ensures that any of its debts that is due was given utmost priority, particularly foreign debts.

    “It is like a first line charge. The Minister talks to me about it and we ensure that wherever we are going to find the dollar, we pay any of our debts, even before we service any obligation. That is the rule if is Nigeria’s authentic sovereign debt,” he said.