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Tag: NNPC

  • Kyari didn’t ask Baru to keep N50bn away from TSA — NNPC

    Kyari didn’t ask Baru to keep N50bn away from TSA — NNPC

    Baru Disclaims Allegation Linking Kyari to N50bn Funds Kept Away from TSA

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disclaimed the allegation that its Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, had ever stated at any fora that the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, “directed the Corporation to keep the sum of N50 billion away from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).”

    The corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, made this known in a rejoinder yesterday.

    Debunking a media report, the statement said: “NNPC wishes to state that the allegation is baseless, and is a clear misrepresentation of the truth.”

    An online publication made the allegation recently.

    Ughamadu added: “By virtue of the operations of the NNPC, the Corporation had made series of compelling cases to the Presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria to allow certain categories of accounts operate outside the TSA, as they contain co-mingled funds governed by detailed agreements with local and international implications.

    “NNPC equally wishes to state that while these necessary approvals sought by the NNPC were graciously given by the Presidency, the Chief of Staff merely conveyed the notice of these approvals to the Corporation.

    “In the same vein, members of the relevant committee of the National Assembly have requested for copies of such approvals, which were duly provided by the Corporation.

    “To claim that the Chief of Staff single-handedly approved these exemptions was not only unfair, but is a complete misrepresentation of facts to mislead the general public.”

  • NNPC may ban petrol with high sulphur content

    NNPC may ban petrol with high sulphur content

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may ban imported fuel with high sulphur content by December 31 this year, its General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Ndu Ughamadu, has said.

    NNPC had planned to ban petrol with high concentration of high sulphur content between July1, last year and last July 1, but was unable to do so due to some regulatory bottlenecks.

    Ughamadu told The Nation that NNPC may implement the ban, adding that the issue is of great importance to the Federal Government.

    Ughamadu said: ‘’The issue of  banning the importation of fuel, with higher volume of suplhur and other imports that contain a considerable level of harmful materials, is sacrosant. The government, through  NNPC is not leaving anybody in doubt, about its readines to outlaw dirty fuels, since they are posing threats to human lives. Yes, the banning can still take place before the year runs out, at least for the sake of safety of consumers. 2017 has not ended, as it remains two or three weeks to go.’’

    He said the process of making Nigerians use fuel, which contains lower level of sulphur is on-going, adding that NNPC has deciced to carry along quality control institutions like the Standards of Organisation of Nigeria(SON) on the issue to do a good job.

    He said switching from fuel with higher sulphur content to lower one was global and that many countries  in Europe and other continents have done so.

    Ughamadu said NNPC is charged with maintaining standards in the industry, especially in fuel consumption.

    Also, the former Minister of Environment, Ms. Amina Mohammed, said the Federal Government is working with the refineries to produce fuel with lower sulphur content in the near future, adding that the issue of enforcing the ban is of major concern to the government.

    Ms. Mohammed, now United Nations Deputy Secretary, said some countries have dumped fuel with high sulphur content, pointing out that Nigeria cannot be an exemption.

    She said NNPC has issued enough notices on the matter and that it can no longer delay the implementation. She said Nigeria will commence the enforcement of the 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur in fuel soon to enble Nigerians use safer and environmentally-friendly fuel.

    She said new refineries that are coming up in Nigeria have been directed to produce fuel at 10 ppm to reduce its sulphuric composition.

    She said when that happens, Nigeria will be consuming fuel with five per cent sulphur  lower than that of South Africa, which has 15 ppm.

    ‘‘Some of the new refineries that are coming up have 10 ppm; South Africa is 15ppm. But for us, it is a West African problem and we hope that we can lead in West Africa by reducing it. So, there is no reason we can’t do it,’’ she added.

    Ghana has slashed the sulphur content in fuel to 50 ppm for imported petrol and diesel, from 1,000 ppm and 3,000 ppm.

    By this, Ghana has taken the lead in the West African sub-region, and it beholds on Nigeria to take similar steps to gaurantee the safety of its people.

  • Motorists pay extra money to fill tank

    Motorists pay extra money to fill tank

    Motorists now pay between N500 and N1000 to petrol station attendants before they are allowed to fill their car tanks at some stations in Chanchaga and Bosso local government areas of Niger.

    A correspondent who monitored situation and sale of fuel on Wednesday, reports that apart from cost of product, petrol station attendants demand between N500 and N1,000 to fill the tank of motorists.

    A motorist, Hajiya Rabi Abdullahi in Bosso, said she had to pay extra N1,000 to petrol attendant to fill her car tank.

    She said “I feel it is better for me to pay extra to buy petrol at filling station than buy from`black marketers’ where I am not sure of the quality of the product.”

    Malam Bashir Isa of Maitumbi village said after spending the night at petrol station, he was able to buy the product after paying extra N500 to the attendant to fill his tank.

    He added that “this is pure sabotage because the product is available in most filling stations across the state but marketers are just exploiting us.”

    He called on Federal Government to take drastic measures against any marketer found hoarding product.

    Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, a commercial driver at Abdulsalam Motor Park in Minna told NAN that “black marketers” had taken over most filling stations.

    He said “all the petrol attendants have their agents selling products at strategic locations in and outside the metropolis.”

    He called for the setting up of Mobile Courts to arrest and identify the source of the black marketers’ supply and deal with them accordingly.

    Read also: Motorists lament as fuel scarcity bites hard in Kano

    He said petrol was now being sold at between N130 and N160 per litre in Minna, depending on the location of the station.

    The petrol queues, which reappeared on December 4, are becoming unbearable for motorists in the state.

    Some of the filling stations operated by Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) had increased their pump price from N150 to N160 per litre.

    At the NNPC Mega Stations and other filling stations by major marketers, the queues were longer, as they maintained the official price of N145 per litre.

    A four-litre gallon of the product in the black market cost N1,300 in Minna town as transport fare had also increased due to the scarcity of product.

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)  Niger command had set up a task force to monitor the sale and distribution of petroleum products in the state.

    The 10-man task force was headed by ASP Peter Doma and Alhaji Abdullahi Jankara of the DPR Minna office.

    The task force was given the responsibility of ensuring normal distribution and sale of product at controlled price.

    NAN

  • Yuletide: NUPENG assures of regular petrol supply

    Yuletide: NUPENG assures of regular petrol supply

    The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers ( NUPENG ) on Wednesday assured motorists of regular supply of petroleum products to filling stations during the Yuletide and beyond.

    Mr. Tayo Aboyeji, the new Chairman of South-West Chapel of NUPENG, gave the assurance in an interview in Lagos.

    According to Aboyeji, tanker drivers will work throughout the Christmas and New Year festivals to ensure that filling stations in the South West get sufficient products.

    “I met the top management of Pipelines and Product Marketing Company ( PPMC ), a subsidiary of NNPC, on the assurance of products due to current fuel scarcity in some parts of the country.

    Read also: NUPENG offers support for NNPC to end fuel scarcity

    “If there is no petrol at depots, there is nothing we can take to filling stations.

    “They assured us that sufficient supply will be available in both PPMC depots in  in Lagos and Mosinmi in Ogun during the period.

    “They also promised to ensure that some private depots being used by the company for distribution will be fully loaded with petroleum products.

    “With this assurance from the NNPC, our tanker drivers will work round the clock to ensure that most filling stations in the South West have more than enough product.

    “We will ensure that Muslim members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers ( PTD ) work around the clock to ensure that petrol is available during the Christmas and New Year holidays,” he said.

    The chairman appealed to Federal Government to ensure speedy completion of Apapa-Wharp Road which was being handled by Dangote Group.

    He said that reconstruction works were taking toll on petroleum tankers going to different tank farms in Apapa, adding that tankers were on queues for days before getting to depots.

    ‘Our tankers spend close to two weeks on queues due to reconstruction of the road before accessing tank farms in Apapa; this is part of what is resulting in scarcity of petrol in the country.

    “We are all aware that 80 per cent of petroleum products being used by Nigerians are coming from these private tank farms in Apapa, so the repair work should be done on time,” he said.

    NAN

  • Motorists spent night at filling stations over fuel scarcity

    Motorists spent night at filling stations over fuel scarcity

    Many motorists spent the night at filling stations in Jos queuing  for petrol as the fuel scarcity bites harder in the Plateau State capital.

    Our correspondent monitoring the fuel supply situation in Jos on Wednesday reports that there are long queues at NNPC and Mobil stations selling the product at N145 regulated price.

    There were minimum queues at other independent marketer’s stations selling at N190 a litre.

    An official at one of the filling stations selling fuel, who preferred anonymity, said as at 7 a.m. that no fewer than 80 motorists were on queue at the station waiting for commencement of sales.

    “We have issued over 76 motorists with the stations stamped and numbered tickets to access the station as soon as we open sales,” he said.

    Read also: NNPC threatens to shut stations hoarding fuel

    The NNPC mega station on Murtala Muhhamad Way was besieged by motorists who queued for about one kilometre from the station.

    Dadel Mangut, a motorist on the queue, said he did not mind the wait as the queue moved fast.

    “Other stations sell-off their fuel to black marketers at night where a gallon of petrol now sells at N1, 200.

    “They see this as an opportunity to make money for the Christmas season,” he said.

    Bagas Samuel, another motorist at Mobil, said a lot of people slept on the queue to ensure they got fuel at the right price.

    Ceaser Douglas, Operations Controller, Jos Office of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), however, told NAN that the situation would soon return to normal as stations have started receiving supply.

    He said sales were going on in an orderly manner at stations that he supervised just this morning.

    NAN

  • NNPC threatens to shut stations hoarding fuel

    NNPC threatens to shut stations hoarding fuel

    The Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Dr. Maikanti Baru, yesterday said the Federal Government would adopt an “aggressive measure” to tackle the artificial scarcity of petroleum products in parts of the country.

    He said part of the approach is the directive to the  Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to not only dispense free fuel to motorists and other members of the public from filling stations found hoarding products, but seal the such stations.

    Baru gave the warning in Ibefun, Ogun State,during  the inauguration of 300million litres tank farm sited in the community by Petrolex Mega Oil City.

    Mr Segun Adebutu, son of billionaire business magnate, Sir Kensington Adebutu, is the chairman of the oil firm.

    Baru attributed the artificial scarcity of fuel to the activities of unscrupulous marketers who he accused of hoarding the product.

    “We must have noticed the sudden return of fuel queues in some parts of the country last week; this is unfortunately attributable to the activities of some independent marketers who are hoarding the product in anticipation of perceived (increase in) price of petroleum product.

    “We’ve said it time and time that the government and NNPC has no intention of increasing the price of petroleum at this moment.

    “Moving forward however, DPR will be more aggressive in curtailing this menace by sealing any petrol station found hording petroleum products. The products will be dispensed to motorists free of charge, so be on notice,” Baru said.

     

  • Supply shortfall cause of fuel scarcity – Kachikwu

    Supply shortfall cause of fuel scarcity – Kachikwu

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, says the major cause of the fuel scarcity currently being witnessed across the country is shortfall in supply of petroleum products.

    Kachikwu, who stated this in a news briefing on Thursday in Abuja, however, said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) was making efforts to ensure that queues at filling stations disappeared in a couple of days.

    “Presently, queues in Lagos have reduced. We know that Lagos, Abuja, Benue, Port Harcourt were among the worst-hit areas.

    “Benue has been dealt with; Port Harcourt is quite moderated. Apart from these areas, other places in the country are probably liquid.

    “The major problem is the gap in terms of volume, because NNPC is the only one importing the product to the country,” he said.

    The minister assured that there was adequate storage facility for imported products, adding that emergency measures were in place to ensure that the products were available during the Yuletide and post-January.

    He said that four vessels laden with petroleum products would “berth in a few days and a total of 20 cargoes are also expected with petroleum products’’.

    Kachikwu said that the NNPC had, as at Wednesday, discharged products at its depots, adding that emergency supply, quick truck delivery and stricter monitoring were measures adopted to ensure that queues disappeared.

    He added that NNPC would use additional trucking to major cities using strategic reserves from Suleja, Minna, Gusau and Gombe.

    This, he said, would help to service Abuja, Kano and Sokoto axis to feed the North-West, North-East.

    “I have asked the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency to ensure stricter sanctions on any station that refuses to abide by the rules.

    “They need to take a firm action to ensure that we get quick results,’’ he said.

    Kachikwu further assured that the market would be flooded with more products to cushion effects of over-subscription through Kaduna refinery production, adding that Port Harcourt was expected to start producing 2.1 million litres of petrol per day.

    He said that it was expected that with the adopted strategies, the queues would “slide down’’ in one week.

    On long-term strategy, he said that ultimate result would come when the refineries resumed optimal production.

    The minister said that work would commence effectively in the refineries in January.

    Executive Secretary of DPR, Mr Modecai Ladan, said that many sanctions awaited filling stations found compromising the dispensing process, warning that the stations would be shut down or charged N275 per litre.

    He said that any station found hoarding products would either be sealed or its product auctioned or dispensed free-of-charge to consumers.

    Ladan added that depending on the offence, defaulters may be shut down for six months or blacklisted.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a drive round Abuja metropolis and highways revealed that only a few filling stations were opened for operation, serving long queues.

    NAN

  • FEC orders NNPC to end scarcity before weekend

    FEC orders NNPC to end scarcity before weekend

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday rose from its weekly meeting with a directive to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Petroleum Ministry to end fuel scarcity by tomorrow.

    Information, Culture & Tourism Minister Lai Mohammed, told reporters after the FEC meeting, that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, assured them there was no cause for alarm.

    Kachikwu could not attend the post-FEC conference because of an urgent appointment, Mohammed explained.

    According to him, Kachikwu told the FEC that there was enough fuel to last till January and that the Federal Government had no plan to increase fuel pump price.

    Mohammed said: “The Minister of Petroleum was supposed to join us but he has to attend a very important meeting so that this crisis would be resolved.

    “The minister assured the council that we have enough products till the next one month even till the end of January.

    “Thirdly, this is winter period. There is always more demand for refined products during winter period in some countries; this is what we are experiencing now.

    “Also, it has been the NNPC that has been importing but he has assured the FEC. The council gave him a matching order that this fuel scarcity should not last beyond this weekend and they are going to work very hard to ensure that it is curtailed. He assured council that there is actually no cause for alarm.”

    On the possibility of pump price increase, the minister said: “No. The government has no intention at all to increase the pump price of PMS.”

  • Supply fuel to your depots, NNPC told

    Supply fuel to your depots, NNPC told

    The solution to the lingering fuel crisis is for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to stop supplying fuel to Depots and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) National President, Chief Chinedu Okoronkwo, has said.

    He said the scarcity was caused by the decision of the marketers not to sell fuel to motorists, among other users, due to its high costs.

    While many outlets that opened for business in Lagos, Sokoto and other states, are selling fuel above the official price of N145 per litre, others are not. This development has further compounded the sufferings of many Nigerians.

    Okoronkwo said the government could help solve the fuel scarcity and its attendant problems of panic buying by ordering the NNPC to change its channel of distributing the product.

    He urged the government to direct the NNPC to distribute fuel through its depots across the country, as against a situation in which the state-owned corporation is using private depot owners.

    Okoronkwo said: ‘’The issue of supplying fuel to DAPMAN first by the National Oil Company (NOC) has done more harm than good.Through this, marketers who need the product most, are unable to get it for distribution to their outlets across the country. When I said that independent marketers need the product most, I’m talking in relation to numbers of marketers that are members of IPMAN. The number of outlets owned by members are more than the outlets belonging to Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN).

    He added: “If NNPC-owned deports are made to control the supply and distribution of fuel in the country, the issue of short-changing the marketers by giving the product to them, at a price that is not competitive, would not arise. Once marketers are getting a good profit margin, coupled with the fact that there is enough fuel in the country, the better for users and the downstream sub-sector of the petroleum industry.”

    According to him, the claims by the NNPC’s Group Managing Directors, Dr Maikanti Baru, that the Corporation has over one billion litres of fuel in reserve for use during the Christmas and New Year, should not be disregarded.

    Okoronkwo said NNPC is not only a regulator, but also the sole importer of fuel in Nigeria, stressing that the agency cannot lie about its operation.

    It would be recalled that marketers are planning to embark on strike from next Monday. But it appear they have started the strike, as they are not selling fuel.

     

  • FEC orders NNPC to end fuel scarcity before weekend

    FEC orders NNPC to end fuel scarcity before weekend

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Petroleum Ministry to ensure the current fuel scarcity in some parts of the country do not last beyond weekend.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting in Abuja.

    Stressing that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, could not attend the post- FEC briefing because of an urgent appointment, he said the minister gave FEC assurance that there was no cause for alarm.

    According to him, Kachikwu told FEC that there is enough fuel in the country to last till January 2018.

    He said there is no intention by the government to increase the pump price of fuel.