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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has declared that it currently has in stock approximately 1.2 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), which is expected to ensure a robust supply of the product for at least 35 days. According to Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Limited, Mr Garba Deen Muhammad, the 2.1 billion litres in total represents 0.9 billion litres in all the land depots nationwide and 1.2 billion litres on marine vessels. He further stated that the company plans to close the month of March 2023 with about 2.8 billion litres, which is equivalent to 47 days of sufficiency.
Mr. Muhammad explained that the recent appearance of queues in some parts of the country was largely due to restrictions in businesses and movement to allow for the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections and enable Nigerians to exercise their civic rights. He noted that operations have now resumed at the depots, and trucks are being dispatched to various parts of the country. The NNPC Ltd. and all its partners and stakeholders will continue to work together to ensure the seamless distribution of petroleum products around the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections.
Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, the National President of the Independent Petroleum Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), in a telephone interview with Vanguard, said petrol supply would continue to improve in the coming weeks, as there were indications that many tanker drivers might have slowed down their operations because of the fear of being attacked by touts during the elections. The National Operations Controller of IPMAN, Mr Mike Osatuyi, also noted that there is currently adequate supply in Lagos and environs because the imported vessels are still discharging the product.
Mr. Clement Isong, the Chief Executive officer/ES of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), called on the players in the downstream sector to embrace automation to enhance transparency in the sector. Speaking at a virtual workshop on world international data day in Lagos, he said that the automation of the entire supply chain is needed, and it will mean everybody needs to invest to optimize their businesses. This would improve the quality of decision-making as well as transparency and eliminate bad behavior, fraud, and theft.
However, a recent visit to the Ijegun-Egba Tankfarm in Lagos showed that four vessels carrying about 80 million litres were still discharging the product to tank farm owners. Tank farm owners, including A.A. RANO Nigeria Limited, JGold Nigeria Limited, Chipet International Limited, Emadeb Energy Services Limited, First Royal Oil Nigeria Limited, MAO Petroleum Company Limited, Menj Oil Limited, Ocean Pride Energy Services Limited, Stallionaire Nigeria Limited, Wosbab Energy Solutions Limited, and Rainoil Limited, would take the product to their outlets and sell to independent marketers at government-regulated prices of N172 per litre.
In its economic agenda to the incoming administration, the Director of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, Dr Muda Yusuf, called for the removal of petrol subsidy and the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, which would attract more investment into the oil and gas sector. Dr Yusuf also called for the appointment of a substantive minister of Petroleum Resources to promote professionalism and transparency in the sector and to discontinue the practice of the President assuming the role of Minister of Petroleum.
