The Nation Newspaper

Tag: marketers

  • Petrocam chief urges marketers on innovation

    Fuel marketers should be more innovative, by using solar energy and other methods of off-grid electricity to achieve growth, Petrocam Nigeria Limited’s  Chief Executive Officer, Mr Patrick Ilo, has said.

    He spoke during the commissioning of its solar-powered fuel outlet in Epe, Lagos.

    He said the outlet generates more than 75,000 kilowatts of electricity yearly through solar, adding that the firm leverages the solar energy to provide power to the neighbouring streets in the area, urging marketers to achieve similar feat.

    He said marketers would be able to reduce the cost of  operation, play better in the sub-sector and maintain competitiveness.

    He urged the Federal Government to fully deregulate the downstream sub-sector of the oil and gas industry, adding that the development would spur the growth of the sub-sector.

  • Govt has not paid our subsidy arrears, say marketers

    The Federal Government is yet to pay marketers subsidy arrears owed them, contrary to speculation in some quarters that the government has paid marketers money owed them in the course of importing fuel from abroad, the Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) Executive Secretary, Mr Femi Adewole, has said.

    He said inability by the government to pay subsidies to the marketers, unfavourable foreign exchange rate caused by the declining value of the naira to dollar, the rise in the interest rates charged by banks, and other factors in the nation’s macro economy have compounded the woes of the marketers.

    Speaking to The Nation on phone, he said the government owes marketers billion of naira as subsidy arrears, adding that failure of the government to pay the money means that many marketers would be forced out of business.

    Adewole said: ‘’ The government has claimed on several occasions that it has paid the subsidy arrears to the marketers. At a point, the government directed Ministry of Finance, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other relevant agencies to provide detailed figures/ amount of the subsidies owed by the government, while at the same time, instructed them to pay the subsidies. Of note is that stakeholders were made to believe that the subsidies have been paid. Often times, the claims were not substantiated.”

    According to him, DAPMAN has verified the claims that the government has paid subsidies owed marketers, and often times, discovered that marketers have not  been paid. Going by the records of transactions at the disposal of DAPMAN, the subsidies owed marketers are huge.

    He said DAPMAN is performing its obligations to the consumers, by supplying fuel to retial outlets across the country, whether the government pays the debts owe  it  or not.

    ‘’DAPMAN has initiated and conducted many transactions with the government.  The organisation cannot on the basis of debts, owed by the Federal Government, stop doing business with stakeholders in the oil value chain. This could be the reason why the money owed marketers in form of subsidies accumulate over the years. ‘he added.

    However, NNPC’s Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndu Ughamadu, said he would not be able to comment on the subsidy arrears owed the marketers.

    He said he must check the  records first before he was able to speak on the issue.  He said the aim is to ascertain the amount of money, which the government owes marketers as subsides, as at press time.

    He said NNPC has transacted businesses with marketers in the industry, adding that he would not be able to state the actual amount of money owed the marketers by NNPC.

    ‘’NNPC follows due process in whatever its does. We at the (NNPC) believe in verifying our transactions well before we make our positions on an issue known to the public.’’ He said.

  • Marketers urge govt to improve fuel infrastructure

    The Federal Government should try and deepen activities in the downstream sub-sector of the nation’s petroleum industry by creating a more conducive environment and infrastructure for operators, especially marketers, Vice Chairman, Southwest chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Debo Ahmed, has said.

    The development, Alhaji Ahmed said, became necessary in order to drive the growth of the oil industry, which has been at the mercy of crude oil refining companies abroad.

    Many companies, he said, desire to establish refineries in order to improve local production and sales of fuel, but they are discouraged by poor operating environment in the country.

    In an interview with The Nation, he said problems such as instability in the foreign exchange market, huge taxes collected by the governments and rising import duties, among others, are deterrents, which operators are running away from in the industry.

    Ahmed said: “Fuel marketers are struggling to stay in business because of the fuel landing cost, which keep on increasing. Added to this, is the rising cost of dollar to naira, which is now over N320. By the time the marketers buy fuel from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) fuel at between N140 and N142 per litre and sell it to consumers at N145 per litre, how much would be left for the marketers?

    “Marketers would not have much problem selling the fuel if they are getting the product from the local refineries. It is absurd to hear that the country finds it difficult to operate the four state-owned refineries years after they were set up by the government.”

    Still on importation, Ahmed said fuel is imported with dollar, adding that any country that has weak currency is always at disadvantage when it comes to importation.

    “It is because the value of naira is very low when compared to dollar that is why the Federal Government is complaining about the money being spent on fuel importation. When the  government considers the money it pays as landing cost of fuel, the cost of fuel will be higher,” he added.

    He said the level of infrastructure is poor, noting that the government has refused to repair it. Issues such as vandalisation of petroleum pipelines and bad roads, he said, compounded the poor infrastructural facilities, which the government is struggling to fix. He argued that the government will find it difficult to record meaningful progress in the midst of these problems.

    According to him, fuel price is increasing in Nigeria, while the product is sold at affordable price to consumers in other countries such as South Africa because it has good infrastructure in place to aid the processing of crude oil into petroleum products, among others.

     

  • Marketers kick over gas plant closure

    The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has expressed concern over the continued closure of Second Coming Gas Plant Nig. Ltd., by the Lagos State government.

    Its Executive Secretary, Mr. Bassey Essien, said the plant had been shut for about nine months.

    In a statement, yesterday, Essien urged the government to reopen the plant.

    Essien called for urgent intervention of the governor to save the gas plant from indefinite closure, saying the association was worried over the prolonged closure.

    He said the investigation panel and inquest set up by the state and federal regulatory agencies did not indict the company for negligence, as it had always taken measures to ensure safety at all times.

    “It is worthy to note that the company has been operating in that same location for over 20 years without any mishap.

    “At the conclusion of investigations, the company was granted approval to begin reconstruction and renovation of the burnt plant, albeit with strict compliance on standards.”

    Essien said the management of the plant had complied with all standard safety requirements given to it and the company was ranked among the most safety compliant gas plants in the country.

    He said while awaiting the final inspection so as to be given the final nod to reopen for business, the place was unceremoniously locked by another agency in the same state and had remained locked for nine months.

    Essien said progress had been made in cooking gas utilisation and consumption.

    He said cooking utilisation and consumption over the years was usually associated with the elite, “but it has now been embraced by food vendors and low income earners.”

    “This huge achievement has been attributed to private investments by committed indigenous entrepreneurs to establish gas bottling plants across the country.”

    Essien said Nigeria was endowed with abundant gas reserves; however utilisation of cooking gas had been abysmally low, compared to neighbouring West African countries.

    He said such countries included Morocco and Egypt in the North.

    “It is the efforts of these indigenous entrepreneurs, who have invested massively to erect terminals and gas bottling plants that have led to the growth in consumption from about 70,000 MT in 2007 to about 840,000MT in 2018.”

  • ‘Marketers should promote NLNG winning books’

    Andy Odeh is the Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Nigeria Prize for Literature. In this interview with Edozie Udeze he speaks on some of the controversies about the Nigeria Prize for Literature and why publicity for the winning books still remains an issue and lots more.

    Ever since the institution of Nigeria Prize for Literature by the Nigeria Natural Liquefied Gas (NLNG), a lot of steamy issues have dominated public discourse around the prize.  Some of these issues border on the constitution of the panel of judges and the advisory board, why must the prize be the winner-takes-it-all type where only the first price winner goes home with a reward, among other burning issues.  But Andy Odeh the Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager of NLNG in an encounter with The Nation addresses some of these issues and charges the public to see the real reasons behind the promotion of Nigerian Literature by the NLNG.

    “Part of what we are doing is to ensure that the best writers always win the prize”, he began.  “This is to give further credence to our literature and this is why we are often thorough in the processes that produce a winner every year.  But we have to task marketers, publishers and even the writers themselves to help in this process of a successful exercise to promote Nigerian literature.  One hundred thousand dollars.  Yes, as a writer I have to look at what it does for me as a writer.  That’ a lot of money and when it is awarded, it can be used also to promote the book, extend its area of publicity beyond merely winning the prize.  Ours is to give the prize but the writer has to go on ahead to ensure the book gets proper publicity and more”; he said.

    However, Odeh contented that he wasn’t speaking for marketers and publishers and others on what to do in this regard.  “I am just talking generally.  But I think we need to have that conversation around these themes.  Ok, so, NLNG is one out of the entire mix of stakeholders.  Yes, we have done our own by establishing and ensuring the success of the prize.  We reward good literary works, done on annual basis.  This shows that something is happening.  But let’s look at the entire process.  A lot of books are coming in every year, judges look at them, then make it to eleven; then to three.  Then there’s one winner.  It shows that it is a quality work.  Now, everyone has an objective; the NLNG has its objective.  Its objective is not to get involved right now in how the books are sold or marketed or distributed.  The books can be listed on Amazon and you can buy them from there.  But think about it too.  You have drama houses; those books can be staged there.  The plays can be produced.  But who produces plays?  You have all these theatre houses in Nigeria.  So those who are responsible for the productions should get involved.  Then the question is: why are these books not being produced?  Who is supposed to answer that question?  If someone has invested so much in one hundred thousand dollars to reward a writer, what else does he do?  By the way, it is the work we are rewarding.  Yes, I repeat: what are marketers and publishers doing to ensure that the books get the needed attention?  It is about time we began to give enough publicity to Nigerian literary works and not just the NLNG prize books.  So many questions.  For instance, why are our works not being used in movies?  Why are the works not being used in dramas on stage?  Or being used as soaps on TVs.  These works are commentaries on what have happened in years past.  Some harp on current issues in the society.  Then you said some of the works fizzle out after the award but if you check, you see that we have a lot of publicity around the works as they come in.  Even while in the process of the final announcement, artis like we do now, gather around to give publicity to the works.  As a writer, if you are a writer and your work has been given this level of publicity, it is already free.  It is free and relatively so.  So our objective is so clear.  It is to give the award but beyond that we need to challenge others to do what they should”, Odeh said.

    The winner-takes-it-all policy is also a bother to the literary community.  What do you say to this?  “So, I will not say we will compensate the last two in the shortlist.  That’s not the appropriate expression.  I will be very careful to answer your question concerning the winner-takes-it-all issue (laughs).  So NLNG is not asking for people to write to come and win the prize.  With or without the prize literature exists.  Yes, it exists.  So as it is today, it is to zero in on the best; the very best among the whole lot.  Is it possible for us to say ok, let’s begin to recognize other positions?  But you see what is happening today is to recognize the eleven on the longlist.  That’s what is needed.  Is there any prize to it?  We then say ok, if you do not get the one hundred thousand dollars prize, you can get heard or celebrated today.  On the whole, with writers like you here today hammering on this issue and the rest, marketers, publishers and the rest will begin to show interest in the areas of publicity, to ensure these works get the desired attention.  That, to some extent, gives credence to the work.  Ok, you have the prize, you’ve got it.  But what do you do with the rest two?  Ah, it is something that can be looked at.  But I can tell you it is not something I can conveniently speak on right now.  The conversation is on; it has been on for a while.  We will deepen the conversation to see how it goes.  However, our attention; our objective is to concentrate on the prize itself to ensure it goes on and on”, the corporate manager explained.

    So many professors on the panel… you’ve included a past winner in one of the panels.  Any more expansion?  “The last one we had a former winner.  Oh, yes we did.  So it is something we keep encouraging and we hope it keeps happening.  We keep ensuring that past winners form part of the judges.  Yes, we will continue to do so.  Yes, the future of the Nigeria Prize for Literature is that we will continue to encourage and support the prize.  It is for the betterment of literature in the land.  The standards are good and this is why we are here to encourage and promote it”, he finally offered.

     

  • Marketers allege disruption of fuel loading at Ejigbo

    Marketers yesterday expressed concern over the alleged disruption of loading at Ejigbo Satellite Depot by Pipelines Products Marketing Company (PPMC).

    They claimed that PPMC has not allowed loading in the last three weeks.

    Chairman of Ejigbo Satellite depot Alhaji Ayo Alanamu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that the action would cause fuel scarcity within the metropolis, if not addressed urgently.

    According to Alanamu, an official of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) explained that routine maintenance was being carried out on system 2B pipeline network, which was yet to be completed.

    “The official said non-payment of salary to the pipelines surveillance security affected the pumping of products to the depot as the security demanded for payment before operation can commence.

    “We have not loaded a single product from the depot in the last three weeks and this has increased the ex-depot price in most private depots in Apapa,” he said.

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) boss urged the NNPC to intervene to avert scarcity management before weekend.

    “Today, the situation has worsened as Mosinmi and Ibadan depots now have low stock. The two depots which usually load 200 trucks each on a daily basis now load between 10 to 12 trucks daily,” he said.

    He said marketers would not hesitate to sell petrol above the N145 per litre pump price, if private depots failed to sell at the official ex-depot price.

    Alanamu said it was a challenge for trucks coming from Kwara, Ilorin, Ekiti, and Kogi to load at Apapa due to the ongoing road repairs.

     

  • Marketers target synergy with foreign crude refiners

    Oil marketers are fashioning out modalities to partner foreign crude oil refiners by December this year with a view to resume importation and further improve product supply in the country.

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN)’s National Controller of Operation, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, who disclosed this in an interview with The Nation, however, refused to mention the foreign refiners’ names, which the Association is discussing with in Europe and other continents. He added that the group has decided to keep the matter to its chest pending when the deal is sealed.

    The marketers, he said, begun the move to form synergy with notable oil refining companies abroad few months ago as part of efforts to improve importation of fuel and further prevent scarcity.

    He said the issue has reached advanced stage as IPMAN representatives and other marketers have met with officials of foreign oil refining firms on the issue.

    Osatuyi said: “Discussions on the issue of firming up relationship that would result in importation of crude into the country have reached a critical stage and marketers are not likely to suspend it. We (marketers) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with oil refiners in Europe and other continents and we strongly believe that the matter would get to a successful end.  Nothing has happened now on the issue of partnering the foreign companies. However, marketers are looking at December, this year, to finalise the issue of partnering the refiners for growth.”

    According to him, the right to give approval to marketers, who want to partner crude refiners abroad lies with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and not the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He said it is true that NNPC regulates activities in the oil and gas sector, but the Federal Government has shared the responsibilities of administering control of the sector to its parastatals for effective control.

    He said while the government has conferred the right to supervise some key elements of the downstream sub-sector on the DPR; NNPC is still the only agency that has the power to either discuss or revisit the issues of fuel subsidies in the country.

    “It is only the NNPC that can revisit subsidy issue through the approval of the presidency as it remains a very sensitive and key issue in the country for now. Without presidential fiat given to a governmental body to discuss the issue of subsidies, no agency can on its own do anything about it,” he added.

    He said IPMAN plays a crucial role in the sub-sector as it provides about 70 per cent of the marketers in the country.

    The issue, Osatuyi said, made the Association a force to be reckon with in the downstream sub-sector, adding that fuel supply would improve whenever marketers start importing fuel into the country.

    He urged the Federal Government to address problems facing the marketers in terms of access to foreign exchange (forex) by ensuring that they (marketers) and other users are able to access forex for growth.

    He said marketers would not find it difficult to get forex for importation once the problems in the foreign exchange market are addressed.

    He said the country will have enough fuel for growth when marketers are able to access forex from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) without stress.

  • Marketers urge govt to remove VAT on cooking gas

    The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has urged the Federal Government to remove Value Added Tax (VAT) on locally produced Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) also called cooking gas.

    Its President, Nosa Ogieva-Okunbor, told reporters in Lagos that VAT payment on locally processed LPG makes it expensive and unattractive to imported LPG, which does not attract VAT payment.

    He noted that payment of VAT on locally processed LPG, which the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited supplies, among other issues, make cooking gas in Nigeria to be expensive, which ought not to be because we have gas resource in abundance.

    The price of 12.5 kg cylinder of cooking is between N4,200 and N4,300 as against N 3,600 in April. Ogieva-Okunbor said apart from VAT problem, some stakeholders in Nigeria’s LPG supply value chain have taken a strangle hold on the business, and are determining what the price of the commodity will be.

    He said it has become imperative to develop effective policies to encourage investors to come into the LPG sector to boost market penetration and the country’s economy while protecting the environment.

    He said VAT removal from the gas supplied to marketers by the NLNG will attract more investors and reduce importation of gas into the country, which is VAT free. He also called for the reduction of import duty on LPG equipment to encourage more investors and deepen LPG consumption in the country.

    According to him, it is not complimentary that Nigeria remained one of the countries with the lowest LPG consumption despite the enormous natural gas reserves in the country. ”Our position is that the government has to provide the enabling environment for more people to come in. We have to remove VAT on the LPG and reduce import duties on the equipment. When this is done, more investors will come into the market and that will help the country a great deal,” he said.

    Ogieva-Okunbor, urged the government to beam its searchlight on marketers responsible for arbitrary increase in the price of cooking gas for personal gain, noting that the price of gas had jumped by 15 per cent in less than two weeks.

    According to him, the price of 20 metric tonnes of the LPG, which was N4 million three weeks ago, increased to N4.6 million last week. He decried price instability in the domestic LPG market, which he said, was caused by a cabal delaying berthing of the LPG bearing vessels at the terminals to cause artificial scarcity.

    “We have been contending with the issue of price instability because a couple of people have hijacked the government’s good gesture of installing the domestic scheme. Under the scheme, gas will be readily available in the major terminals in Lagos. When there are no supply shortages, there will be a level playing ground in terms of competition and pricing.

    “The Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is tasked with the responsibility of managing the berthing of the LPG vessels at the terminals. But some stakeholders in the LPG sector  are causing a near monopoly in the LPG market as only a private terminal is able to receive imported gas product, while NLNG gas cannot find a place to berth,” the NALPGAM chief said.

    He noted that the effort of the government through the Minister of State, Petroleum Resource, Dr. Emmanuel IbeKachikwu, to make cooking gas available to households was being scuttled by a few individuals.

    He, however, appealed to the government to dredge the Southern Escravos of Warri port to enable bigger vessels carrying gas berth to reduce concentration at Lagos ports.He explained that the completion of the Escravos dredging would make the seaport commercially viable for gas marketers and other seaport operations.

  • ‘How we checked fuel scarcity, by marketers

    Marketers under the aegis of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) have given insights into how they helped to reduce fuel scarcity in the country.

    The marketers include Oando, Forte Oil, Mobil, and MRS.

    In separate interviews, the marketers said they collaborated with the Navy, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD),  the National Association of Road Truck Owners (NARTO) and others to reduce the traffic that was preventing tanker drivers from supplying fuel in time.

    They said there were many tank farms, loading bays and jetties in Apapa, adding that tanker drivers spent days on queue to load fuel.

    MOMAN Chief Security Officer Colonel Adesanya (retd) said the marketers set up a committee, adding that the committee and the Navy collaborated to reduce gridlocks in Apapa and its environs.

    He said decongesting the road was the first assignment undertaken by the Navy and the committee.

    According to him, the Navy introduced a call card system, through which truck drivers were given cards that would enable them to load fuel and leave the loading bay immediately for others.

    He said: “Since the Navy took over the clearing of tankers and other vehicles that are causing traffic in Apapa, vehicles, especially fuel tankers, have been moving freely. The call card was signed by the Navy, to enable it authenticate the tankers that have either loaded or are due for loading. Through this, the Navy and the marketers were able to reduce the traffic on the roads and the number of hours spent by tanker drivers before they supplied fuel.

    ‘’Fuel tanker drivers spend a lot of time at the jetties in Apapa, before they load. The development has resulted in fuel scarcity, as tanker drivers do not supply fuel to the end users in time. However, the collaboration between the Navy, the marketers and other agencies have helped in reducing the scarcity.’’

    He said reducing the turnaround time for loading of fuel and supplying it had helped to checkmate  scarcity.

    Adesanya, also the Head of Security of MRS, said the drivers would not have been able to speed up the process of supplying fuel, if they were not given cards by the Navy, with a view to reduce the time they are wasting in Apapa, where they are loading petroleum products.

    Also, MOMAN’s Head, Safety and Health Committee, Dr Oyet Gogorima, said the call up card issued to taker drivers made their work schedule samplers.

    He said the idea  has reduced vehicular congestion at the loading bay and the jetties, stressing that the issue has fasten the process of loading and distribution of fuel.

    He said the usual traffic in Apapa has reduced, because drivers comply with the directives of the Navt and other agencies in the area.

    He lauded the  Commander, NNS Beecroft Commodore Okon Eyo for his helping to clear the gridlock in Apapa, stressing that traffic has eased up in the area greatly.

    He said the issue has resulted in seamless operation of tanker drivers, as well as making commuting in the area  hazles free.

  • OPS, marketers fault PIGB on single regulator for oil industry

    The Organised Private Sector (OPS) and oil marketers have faulted the provision of a single regulator, the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPRC) in the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) by the National Assembly.

    They spoke jointly to reporters in Lagos yesterday. While  the OPS was represented by its Chairman, Economic Policy Committee, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Odiah Reginald Odiah, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) was represented by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Obafemi Olawore. The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) was also represented by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Olufemi Adewole.

    The groups told reporters that they have carefully gone through the PIGB and noted the provision of a single regulator in the bill would be counter-productive and keep Nigerians and the economy in same problems we experience today in the oil and gas industry.

    They say it has become imperative to point out the problem before the bill gets presidential assent because they learnt the National Assembly has harmonised their positions on it. Creating one regulator for the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry will be too big and the regulator will become ineffective, they argued.

    They groups said: “We need the National Assembly to create two regulatory bodies or agencies that will be independent, one for the upstream and one the downstream.”

    At the beginning of Nigeria’s oil industry, it was only one regulator that existed, the Department of Petroleum Resources, and it was not able to properly and efficiently regulate the industry, hence the creation of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF).