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Tag: petrol

  • DPR seals 16 filling stations in Akwa Ibom

    DPR seals 16 filling stations in Akwa Ibom

    The Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR ) said it had sealed 16 filling stations for selling petrol above N145 per litre pump price.

    The Operations Controller of DPR in Akwa Ibom, Mr Tamunoiminabo Sundaye, disclosed this in Eket on Monday.

    Sundaye, however, said that some of the affected stations had paid the penalty and had signed undertaking with the department “to be of good behaviour’’.

    He said that the department had begun close monitoring of the filling stations to ensure that they reversed their pumps to dispense petrol at N145 per litre.

    He also said the agency had engaged private depot owners to ensure that they sold the product at ex-depot price to marketers.

    The controller deplored the conduct of independent marketers, who accused of taking advantage of recent “upset in the oil market’’ to exploit the public by selling petrol above regulated rate.

    He alleged that the marketers were creating artificial scarcity of the product in the state.

    “I will not really say that there is much scarcity in Akwa Ibom because there is no queue.

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

    “What happened is that our brothers and sisters took opportunity of what happened in Lagos and Abuja, which of course is normal now.

    “Our people and their normal way of doing things, started selling above government approved pump price and we have sealed a number of filling stations over it,’’ Sundaye said.

    He appealed to marketers to do the business in accordance with rules and regulations of the petroleum sector, saying that the present administration would not tolerate sharp practises in the industry.

    According to him, any marketer caught would face the wrath of the law.

    Sundaye warned marketers not to indulge in under-dispensing of the products in the state, saying that they were would face penalty.

    Most filling stations in Akwa Ibom are selling petrol between N160 per litre and N170 per litre.

    NAN

  • 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.

  • Why petrol is scarce, by IPMAN

    Why petrol is scarce, by IPMAN

    •Price hike hits Abuja, Abia, Edo, others

    THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday explained what necessitated the fresh scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in some parts of the country.

    Its national vice president, Abubakar Maigandi, who spoke with The Nation on phone, alleged that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was delaying  the loading of independent marketers’ trucks at its depots.

    He added that the private depots that were opened to the independent marketers were selling above the official pump price.

    His words: “In the NNPC, there is serious delay in loading. Then the private depots are selling above the government stipulated rate. This has stopped most of the independent marketers not to buy it.

    “They are selling between N141 to N145 per litre in the depots in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Warri. This is the serious issue why we are having serious challenges. If care is not taken, there will be serious scarcity. Government needs to quickly intervene for the sake of the people.”

    But, a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) survey around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) showed that the queues resurfaced early yesterday morning at a few stations, especially in the central area.

    A drive around the metropolis showed that some of the fuel stations, which hitherto had idle pump attendants, now had queues to attend to.

    Commercial motorists in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, yesterday lamented the sharp increase in pump price of PMS.

    When The Nation went round the commercial town on Monday, some marketers around Park Road and Milverton area sold a litre of PMS between N144-N145. Transporters were  yesterday  greeted with a new pump price, which sells between N148-N150.

    Some of the transporters, including Mr. Kelechi Chukwu, expressed fears that if nothing was done by the Federal Government and the NNPC to ensure adequate supply of the product, there would be high cost of transportation fare this festive season.

    A marketer, who spoke with The Nation, added that they were selling the product depending on the part of the country, where they sourced the product from.

    Some petrol stations in Benin City metropolis sold PMS for between N150 and N160 per litre yesterday.

    Motorists, who did not want to purchase from petrol stations, opted to stay in long queue where fuel was sold for N145 per liter.

    At Ekenwan Road, only one petrol station was seen selling at the normal approved pump price.

    At many petrol stations along Akpakpava road such as Total, Oleum, Oando and Conoil, fuel was sold for N145 per litre.

    At the NNPC mega station along Sapele road, petrol was sold for N143 per litre.

    Two marketers said they increased the pump price because they bought fuel from depot at N144 per litre.

     

  • Average price for petrol drops, kerosene increases – NBS

    Average price for petrol drops, kerosene increases – NBS

    The average price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) dropped by 1.2 per cent year-on-year, the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics ( NBS ), has said.

    According to a report on the NBS website, the Bureau also listed states with the highest and lowest average price of petrol in comparison with the approved government price of N145.

    “The average price paid by consumers for PMS decreased by 1.2 per cent year-on-year and increased by 0.1 per cent month-on-month to N144.5 in September 2017 from N144.4 in August 2017.

    “States with the highest average price of PMS were Yobe N149.7, Bayelsa N147.1 and Taraba N146.1, while states with the lowest average price of petrol were Abuja N142, Osun N142.8 and Ondo N142.9,’’ the NBS said.

    On Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), the Bureau said the “average price per litre paid by consumers for kerosene increased by 17.28 per cent month-on-month.

    “It decreased by -8.38 per cent year-on-year to N264.48 in September, 2017 from N225.52 in August, 2017.

    “States with the highest average price per litre of kerosene were Plateau N316.67, Yobe N294.44 and Kaduna N294.12.

    “States with the lowest average price per litre of kerosene were Abia N240.56, Edo N240.00 and Ekiti N233.33,’’ the NBS said.

    NAN

  • NNPC stocks two billion litres of petrol

    NNPC stocks two billion litres of petrol

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has a stock of over two billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to ensure a hitch-free end-of-year movement of motorists.

    Speaking after his investiture as Honourary Special Marshal by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Corporation’s Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, said adequate measures were in place to ensure that motorists have unimpeded access to fuel ahead of the forthcoming end-of-year festivities.

    Dr. Baru said provision of adequate petroleum products would not only ease transportation but would also make our roads safer for motorists, just as other consumers too would have no need to hoard highly inflammable products in jerry cans, among others, which may pose as safety challenge to them.

    According to the corporation in a statement yesterday, Baru said: “As we speak, NNPC has over two billion litres of petrol and we want to sustain this level from now on till the end of the year and beyond. This volume would give the country product sufficiency of about 60 days, well above the standard 30 days sufficiency threshold.”

    Describing his investiture as an eloquent testament of the Corporation’s long standing commitment to road safety and support for the FRSC, the GMD said NNPC would remain unwavering in its backing of the FRSC towards achieving its mandate of making our roads safer for motorists and other road users.

    In her remarks, Deputy Corps Marshal in charge of Operations, Ojeme Ewhrudjakpor, who presided over the ceremony, thanked the Corporation for its commitment to road safety.

    Ewhrudjakpor stated that road safety was the responsibility of everyone from motorists to regular road safety officers including special marshals, adding that all have a duty to ensure that the safety target which involves limiting the number of casualties on our road is achieved.

  • Man arraigned for ‘stealing’ N2m petrol

    A 35-year-old man, Fatai Olalekan, was yesterday arraigned before an Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrate Court over alleged stealing of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as Petrol.

    Police Prosecutor Caleb Leranmo told the court that the defendant committed the offense on August 28 at Bank Road in Ado-Ekiti.

    He alleged that the defendant, on  the said date, unlawfully stole 87 litres of petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) which valued N1.2 million at N143 being property of Gilbert Igweka Global Concept Nigeria Limited.

    The defendant pleaded not guilty.

    His counsel, Tunde Falade prayed the court to grant bail to his client in liberal terms, with a promise not to jump bail.

    Magistrate Aderopo Adegboye granted the defendant N200,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum, adding the one of the sureties must be a civil servant.

  • ‘NNPC crashes cooking gas, petrol prices’

    ‘NNPC crashes cooking gas, petrol prices’

    THE intervention of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the supply and distribution of petroleum products has led to significant fall in the prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) – cooking gas – nationwide.

    A national survey by Oil and Gas Forum, NNPC’s weekly television programme, indicated a trend of drop in price for cooking gas with the average price for refilling five kilogrammes (kg) cylinder at N2,215.96 from the former price of N2,500.00.

    The study further revealed that states with the lowest average price for the five kg LPG refill were Kaduna and Niger at N2,000; Kogi at N2,005.00 and Oyo at N2,033.33.

    At the NNPC Mega and retail stations nationwide, a 12.5 kg of cooking gas that was sold for N4,500 a few months ago is now sold for N3,800 and other retail outlets sell the same quantity for N4,000.

    The corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said this in a statement yesterday.

    The statement added that a national survey by the TV programme indicated that in the last few weeks the price of petrol has fallen steadily from N145 per litre to between N142 and N143 per litre in some stations across the country.

    The study showed that NNPC Mega and affiliate stations across the country were selling the product for N143 per litre. The pump price range from between N142 and N145 per litre in some major and independent marketers in Lagos, Abuja, Sokoto, Enugu, Delta and other major cities.

    One of the respondents in the survey and a manager at an independent fuel retail station in Abuja, Mohammed Abdullahi, said the station presently sells petrol at N142 per litre in line with the prevailing market situation to sustain the turnover of the business and to attract more motorists to the station.

    Another independent marketer in Mosimi, Emeka Ikechukwu, said the going ex-depot prices of PMS had dropped from N138 per litre in most depots to N133.28 in NNPC depots and between N130 and N131 per litre in private depots.

    However, the situation is slightly different in Aba and Umuahia in Abia State and Calabar in Cross River State, where most independent fuel stations as well as major marketers were selling the product at N145 per litre.

    NNPC has sustained its interventions through sustained improvement in the supply of the products and remodeling of distribution channels to address sufficiency issues across the country.

    The corporation has also stepped up the resuscitation of some of its critical pipelines and depots such as the Atlas Cove – Mosimi Depot Pipeline, Port-Harcourt Refinery – Aba Depot Pipeline, Kaduna – Kano Pipeline and the Kano Depot , which have enhanced efficiency in products distribution.

    Efforts are also ongoing by the NNPC to revamp and re-commission other critical pipelines and depots across the country to further push down the prices of petroleum products for the benefit of consumers.

  • Petrol prices to fall, says Kachikwu

    Petrol prices to fall, says Kachikwu

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu on Thursday said that owing to the competition inherent in the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) price modulation, the product’s prices will crash  in the next four to six months.
    He urged Nigerians not to undermine the present prices of the product, stressing that a look at the prices of the diesel which are now 40% down and recording surplus supply is enough evidence that the petrol prices will also crash.
    Presenting his scorecard on his two years in office in a podcast released to reporters in Abuja he said that “once Nigerians throw their trading skill in, once competition thrives, the prices will continue to tumble.
    ” My guess is that you will see the prices tumble in the next four, five to six months. The market will be more stable and definitely the prices will be lower than what we see today.”
    Still capturing hope in the petroleum downstream sector, he said that in the last 10 years, this is the first time that the three refineries are working simultaneously, although at 50 % of their capacity.
    “We expect to put in investment to put them to 90% capacity,” he said.
    Kachikwu said that this is the first that the NNPC group of companies are recording savings which could be used to address the issue of the refineries alongside the Joint Venture Partners.
    The minister noted that this is the first time the government is upgrading the depots to extent that of the 19 only three are not functioning at the moment.
    He said this is the first time that a government is considering the replacement of the 35 year old pipelines.
    It has been one massive problem after the other in order for the sector to stabilize in term of product supply in the country.
    Kachikwu however submitted that but “the time has come to take on the problem bullishly and that is what we are trying to do. So, we believe the ire will be money for infrastructural development in the downstream sector.
    “We believe that a lot of the companies will jump up now and be able to sell at the right prices and not the pump down by the problem of price control and will be able to grow their businesses. We believe that most of them efficient ones will drive prices southward  rather than northward.
    “And we believe that almost 200,000 jobs will be created in this sector and over 400,000 jobs will be saved which would have been lost if we had continued on the path we were in.”
    He revealed that on assumption of office two years ago, he inherited a debt of N600billion owed to marketers of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) which the  federal government settled.
    He recalled that they seized importing the products prior to the payment of their debt.
  • No plan to raise petrol price, says NNPC

    No plan to raise petrol price, says NNPC

    • UK supply cut pushes oil prices to $54

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said the recent increase in bridging allowance to transporters from N6.20 to N7.20 per litre will not lead to an increase in the N145 per litre pump price of petrol.

    Its Chief Operating Officer (COO) in charge of Downstream Operations, Mr. Henry Ikem Obih, who gave the assurance yesterday in Abuja, said there was no plan by the government or any of its agencies to review the pump price of petrol above N145 per litre.

    He explained that the rise in the bridging cost was achieved after an adjustment was made in the “lightering expenses” from N4 to N3 per litre and the difference transferred to compensate for the cost of bridging within the same template.

    The bridging allowance refers to the cost element built into the products pricing template to ensure a uniform price of petrol across the country, while lightering expenses involve charges for moving products to depot area  from mother vessels by light vessels due to the inability of the former to berth in shallow water depth.

    “What happened, in simple language, is a rebalancing of the margins allowed and approved for stakeholders. So what the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) did was to take N1 from lightering expenses and add same to the bridging allowance. That is how we arrived at N7.20. Therefore, petrol remains at the ceiling of N145 per litre.”

    On the availability of product, he said as at today, the country had 1.3 billion litres of petrol which translated to an inventory of 36 days.

    “What this means is that even if we stop importation or refining of petrol right now, we have enough products in-country to provide for the needs of every Nigerian for a period of 36 days,’’ he said.

    Obih noted that the supply availability was bolstered with the production of petrol from the three refineries located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna.

    “There is absolutely no risk of shortage in supply as we also continue to import to support the production from the refineries, we have informed the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to enforce the prevailing N145 per litre price regime and also ensure that every service station that has fuel is selling to the public,’’ he said.

    Meawhile, oil rose to a near one-month high yesterday on signs of a gradual tightening in global oil inventories and on concerns about a supply cut at a field in the United Kingdom’s North Sea that feeds into an international benchmark price.

    Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, were at $54.52 per barrel, up 35 cents, or 0.65 percent, from their last close.

  • Petrol Subsidy back, FG in dilemma how to keep paying difference

    Petrol Subsidy back, FG in dilemma how to keep paying difference

    Petrol subsidy is back. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has been offsetting for months the difference between the landing costs of petrol and the pump price.

    In series of interviews with knowledgeable players in the sector, NAN can report authoritatively that the landing costs per litre of petrol is higher than the price Nigerians pay at the pump.

    According to a source, who is a staff of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, government being a listening one has been quietly bearing the differential.

    “The landing costs hovers around N160 to N165. The marketers buy from us and so the government bears it because it feels it will be unfair to make the consumer pay the difference.

    “With the current recession, the government will not want to burden the people with a price hike,’’ the source said.

    Both the NNPC and the government are also concerned by the recent smuggling of petrol across the porous Nigerian borders to Chad and Niger, where a litre of petrol goes for over N400, compared to Nigeria’s N145.

    A staff of the Petroleum Products Pricing Agency (PPPRA), who also preferred anonymity, said the marketers had no moral right to divert fuel meant for the people.

    “For now Forex is a big issue,’’ the source said adding that “but the NNPC sells virtually everything it imports to them. So no marketer has any right to divert fuel.”

    “If indeed the product is being sold for N400 in Niger Republic like you said, the Nigerian marketer has no right to look there.

    “This is because NNPC is paying the difference just because it wants every Nigerian to have easy access to the white products.

    “The fluctuating foreign exchange has not helped matters, but even the marketers cannot complain because government bears the brunt of the whole thing’’, the source reiterated.

    However, a source at the NNPC fears that government may find itself overburdened by the subsidy as the economy is still caught in a web of recession.

    “Soon the government may not be able to pay the price difference again because it runs into billions of naira”, said the source.

    “Recall that at a workshop last year, an engineer with the corporation had said partial deregulation was unreasonable, he was right.

    “The solution is full deregulation. Let the consumer feel it once and for all. This politics of walking around the problem won’t help at all’’.

    On May 11, 2016 the Federal Government, through the PPPRA, had announced a new petrol regime of N135-N145 from its previous price of N97, which was heavily subsidised.

    This increase led to various economic emergencies that affected all sectors and since Nigeria operates an oil-dependent economy, the impact was felt on external reserves, exchange rate, gross domestic product and inflation rate.

    The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, had at the time said he would prefer to use the word liberalization rather than deregulation.

    Kachikwu ‎said the major plan of the Federal Government was to stop importation of petroleum products in the long term.

    The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, which was trading around $41 per barrel when the petrol price was increased, is now $55.64 per barrel. (NAN)