By Udeme Akpan, Energy Supervisor, Victor AhiumaYoung, Obas Esiedesa and Peter Duru
LAGOS — There were signs, yesterday, that the petroleum deficiency in the nation won’t end soon as $6 billion obligation to petroleum providers, absence of liquidity and different issues have placed tension on the Central Government’s ability to support the importation of the item.
Even though oil marketers claimed that they were unable to import the product because of the high foreign exchange rate of $1,500 per dollar, which has raised the product’s landing cost to more than N1,100 per liter, this is still the case.
In the mean time, the Nigeria Managers Consultative Affiliation, said yesterday that the economy keeps on battling because of variances in the unfamiliar trade market, proceeded with low unrefined petroleum creation, and a high financial strategy rate that compelled business action.
Checks by Vanguard demonstrated that players in the worth chain have embraced measures to boost the assignment of accessible restricted supply.
Vanguard assembled that under the ongoing plan, significant advertisers, their vendors, and warehouse proprietors get the item at about N560 per liter and offer it to free advertisers for somewhere in the range of N670 and N680 per liter.
The product is sold to off-takers for between N700 and N900 per liter by independent marketers, who bear the cost of transportation to many parts of the country, including the outskirts.
Yesterday, the few filling stations that were open to customers had long lines, and many of the ones that didn’t have the product closed.
Obligation to petroleum providers influences maintainability — NNPC
Olufemi Soneye, NNPC Ltd.’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, issued the following statement in response to the development yesterday: NNPC Ltd. has acknowledged recent national newspaper reports that the company owes a lot of money to suppliers of gasoline.
The company is under a lot of stress as a result of this financial strain, and fuel supply sustainability is at risk.
’This financial strain has placed considerable pressure on the company and poses a threat to the sustainability of fuel supply.
“To ensure a consistent supply of petroleum products across the nation, we are actively collaborating with relevant government agencies and other stakeholders.”
NNPC acknowledges $6 billion in debt to fuel suppliers.
Yesterday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, or NNPC Limited, also acknowledged that it owed a significant amount to its gasoline suppliers.
In a statement, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, Chief Communications Officer of the company, stated that the debt has placed a significant financial strain on NNPC operations.
In December, the subsidy will reach N5.4 trillion.
NNPC’s monetary gauge has it that the absolute petroleum sponsorship bill from August 2023 to December 2024 will arrive at N5.4 trillion.
As per NNPC, the evacuation of the petroleum appropriation in June 2023 at first prompted month to month reserve funds of N400 billion for the organization, empowering the organization to transmit N2.032 trillion in expenses and eminences by January 2024.
Be that as it may, the NNPC’s costs importation turned negative in August 2023 and rose to N5.41trn by April 2024 due to the downgrading of the naira.
We have no admittance to mass petroleum supply — IPMAN
In a similar vein, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, or IPMAN, expressed outrage yesterday when its members were denied access to NNPC Limited’s direct supply of gasoline.
The autonomous advertisers said without a trace of direct mass inventory from NNPC, its individuals had needed to source items from private stop proprietors at excessive rates.
IPMAN Advertising Official, Boss Chinedu Ukadike, who talked only to Vanguard, said until free advertisers who work most of gas stations the nation over had the option to get immediate stockpile from NNPC, it would be challenging to end the waiting fuel lines that had endured more than two months.
He explained that IPMAN members had difficulty accessing the gasoline while it had begun arriving at ports in Warri, Port Harcourt, and Lagos.
For certain weeks now, items have not been provided to IPMAN individuals. We have been purchasing from major marketers and other tank farm owners. Yet, as of late, items have begun coming in. We are aware that their products are currently being received in Warri, Lagos, and Port Harcourt, and the marketers’ barge will soon arrive.
“All of these issues of profiteering and bottlenecks will be resolved if IPMAN members can be allocated the product holistically.” We are limited by these constraints and have no choice but to visit other tank farms to see if we can obtain product from them.
He stated, “Consequently, we do not have access to our own petroleum products and allocations have not been given to us.”
Ukadike promised that affordable products would be available if the bottlenecks were resolved.
He explained the reason for the high cost of purchasing the product from private depots, saying: The cost shifts, contingent upon how scant the item is.
Tank farm owners typically sell to their own filling stations when the product is scarce. As a result, we now go to their filling stations, where there will be a flurry of trucks waiting to be discharged, to see if we can persuade them to give us petroleum products for a higher price.
The same goes for NNPC. There will be a flurry of trucks as soon as you arrive at their filling stations, with more than six trucks parked side by side awaiting discharge. Along these lines, we are at this point not autonomous advertisers; We now rely on marketers. In terms of distribution, independent marketers are not really included in the chain.
He made sense of that before now, it costs about N500,000 to bring a truck from the seaside stops to Abuja however noticed that cost has raised to about N3.5 million because of the significant expense of diesel, truck support and terrible streets.
Oil marketers had recently called for lowering the price of diesel at the pump to N700 per liter in order to help spread petrol across the country.
In Abuja, Mr. Benneth Korie Doi, who is the president of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria, or NOGASA, stated that the high cost of diesel used by trucks was a significant obstacle to the effective nationwide distribution of gasoline.
As Mr. Doi had stated: Concerning costs of Mechanized Gas Oil, Back, with Dangote’s treatment facility creation and raw petroleum exchanges in naira, we anticipate a decrease in Prior costs. In order to reduce these costs, NNPC should use its stake in Dangote’s refinery to lower transportation costs and market prices.
He argued that monopolies were bad and that the government needed to create a competitive downstream sector in the petroleum industry.
“We should encourage a cutthroat climate to guarantee the solid course of oil based goods. I compliment Aliko Dangote for his stupendous commitment to our industry through the foundation of the biggest processing plant in Nigeria.
“This improvement guarantees significant advantages, including upgraded supply, expanded contest, and a lift to our public economy and money.
Dangote’s refined products should be made available to a wider range of stakeholders, including NNPC Trading, NNPC Retail, DAPPMAN, MOMAN, IPMAN, PETROAN, and NOGASA, in order to ensure a balanced distribution. He stated, “This inclusivity will make it possible for the country’s distribution to be sustainable and widespread.”
PETROAN: Dangote Refinery to end the shortage
Mr. Joseph Ehimen, Chairman of the Lagos chapter of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN, said the following yesterday in an interview with Vanguard: To effect positive changes, the industry was deregulated. However, as a result of the fuel shortage, the modifications have been eliminated.
‘Nigerians are enduring a direct result of restricted supply. The high cost of moving the product from the depots to the filling stations, as well as maintenance costs and fees, present additional challenges for us as operators.
We are aware of NNPC Ltd.’s efforts to keep the refineries running. They must be put to work as soon as possible. In the event that all necessary game plans are made, Dangote Treatment facility ought to have the option to help with finishing the fuel lack in light of its tremendous 650,000 barrels each day limit.”
