Business

NNPC, major marketers deny increase in fuel price

Published

4 years ago

February 17, 2021

Trends Admin

Independent marketers justify pump price hike

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has dismissed reports of an upward review in ex-depot prices of petrol.

Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria (MOMAN) also said its members had not increased the pump price of petrol.

But the independent marketers said they could only get the product between N160 and N162 per litre at the depot instead of N148 per litre.

Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Dr Kennie Obateru, said there was no immediate plan to increase the pump price of fuel.

But some marketers in Lagos and Ogun states are said to have adjusted their pump price of petrol from N162 to N170 per litre as shortage of the product is being experienced by private depots in Apapa, Lagos.

Obateru, in an interview, said, “The NNPC has not increased its ex-depot price. I am certain that the NNPC is not likely to increase its ex-depot price in February.”

According to him, NNPC has a stock of petrol that can last for over 40 days. He allayed fears about scarcity of the product.

Obateru urged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to clamp down on the marketers hoarding petrol.

“We have sufficiency for almost 40 days. If people are hoarding or increasing their prices, it is for the DPR to look into it,” he said.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) urged the Federal Government to return subsidy to petrol as landing cost soared to N180 per litre.

IPMAN’s National Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Maiganidi, told The Nation the government should either deregulate the product fully or subsidise it.

Maigandi was reacting to the latest fuel scarcity in Lagos.

Asked whether there was an upward review of the pump price, he said, “Most of the private depots are selling petrol for between N160 and N164 per litre instead of N148 per litre.”

The Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria (MOMAN) also denied that there was a hike in the pump price of petrol.

It wondered whether any fuel marketer was getting supply from any source other than the NNPC

MOMAN Chairman, Tunji Oyebanji, said none of his members had hiked fuel price, adding that all marketers currently source products from the NNPC.

He said since the Federal Government claimed it had deregulated the downstream oil sector, marketers were at liberty to sell at any price reflecting their operational cost.

He said if the unilateral fuel price hike had come from some of his members, the government would have wielded the big stick.

Oyebanji said the Federal Government desired to deregulate the downstream oil sector, adding that if that had taken place, the price would have gone up astronomically.

He said the government was in consultation with labour to avoid a sharp rise in petroleum products prices.

Consumers resorted to panic buying of petrol products across some states, resulting in fuel queues along some routes in the Lagos metropolis.

Some filling stations have shut their outlets altogether.

In Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, the queues that returned to petrol stations at the weekend subsided on Tuesday.

At the First Blessing filling station along Satellite Campus Road, Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, petrol was sold at N175 per litre, while at NNPC retail outlet along the popular Bank Road in the city, it was sold at N65 per litre.

In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the product was still being sold at between N162 to N162.50 per litre, which is still within the N160 and N165 band set by the government when crude traded just above $43 per barrel four months ago.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March traded above $60 yesterday, while the Brent April contract on the Intercontinental Exchange settled at $63. Both crude benchmarks added over 12 per cent in value since the beginning of February.

Maigandi said the existence of different prices was an indication of a shortfall, which the marketers are asking the government to subsidise.

Asked why the marketers are not patronising the NNPC depots where the price is still official, he said, “You cannot get the product from NNPC depots. NNPC depots will ask you to queue up at the depot.”

Business

Nigeria’s foreign reserves in marginal increase, now $40.88bn

Published

3 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Trends Admin

Nigeria’s foreign reserves in marginal increase, now $40.88bn

Nigeria’s foreign reserves rose to $40.88 billion as of November 21, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has said.

Cardoso disclosed this on Tuesday at a press conference after the Monetary Policy Committee’s 298th meeting in Abuja.

He said the external reserves grew from $40.06 billion at the end of October to $40.88 billion in November.

The amount represents an increase of $82 million or 2.05 per cent in 21 days.

“The external reserves rose marginally to 40.88 billion as of 21 November 2024, from 40.06 billion at the end of October 2024, available to finance 17 months of imports,” he said.

However, from the apex bank’s website, the increase in Nigeria’s foreign reserves showed $40.27 billion on November 22.

Cardoso also said, “The process of getting us where we are in terms of reserves has been a long one”.

“It is a clear indication that the policies we have put in place are certainly yielding fruits,” he added.

“However, and it’s very important to make a distinction here and to reiterate the fact that reserves are there for a multiplicity of different purposes, not least of which is to create buffers in the event of unanticipated shocks.

“So they are not there to simply whittle away. They are there to be used to more or less defend yourself where that becomes necessary

“And when we talk about shocks that are not anticipated, I think we can see how the global economies are.”

Cardoso also said the bank would continue to intensify efforts to stabilise the currency and prices.

The CBN governor said, “The currency has been stable compared to what it was in June”.

But he said for the value of the country’s currency to be stable, there must be increased exports and diversification of the economy.

Cardoso said diaspora remittance had increased due to policies put in place.

He commended those in the diaspora for helping the country accomplish over $600 million in remittances.

Business

Naira rises to N1,755/$ in parallel market

Published

3 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Trends Admin

Naira rises to N1,755/$ in parallel market

The Naira yesterday appreciated to N1,755 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,770 per dollar on Monday.

Business

PH refinery to blend 1.4-million litre petrol daily – NNPC

Published

4 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Trends Admin

PH refinery to blend 1.4-million litre petrol daily – NNPC

Rehabilitated old Port Harcourt refinery is currently operating at 70 per cent of its installed capacity, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has said.

The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) operates two refineries: the old refinery with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) and a new refinery with an installed capacity of 150,000 bpsd.

The NNPCL in a statement on Tuesday, said it planned to increase the operation to 90 per cent of the refinery’s capacity.

“The Board and Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) express heartfelt appreciation to Nigerians for their support and excitement over the safe and successful restart of the 60,000 barrels-per-day Old Port Harcourt Refinery,” the statement reads.

“This achievement marks a significant step forward after years of operational challenges and underperformance.

“We are, however, aware of unfounded claims by certain individuals suggesting that the refinery is not producing products. For clarity, the Old Port Harcourt Refinery is currently operating at 70% of its installed capacity, with plans to ramp up to 90%.”

According to NNPC, the refinery has commenced production of daily outputs of straight-run petrol (naphtha), which is blended into 1.4 million litres of petrol.

The national oil company said the refinery has also started producing 900,000 litres of kerosene per day and 1.5 million litres per day of diesel.

The NNPC said 2.1 million litres daily volume of low-pour fuel oil (LPFO) would also be produced at the refinery, adding that additional volumes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be refined at the plant.

“It is worth noting that the refinery incorporates crack C5, a blending component from our sister company, Indorama Petrochemicals (formerly Eleme Petrochemicals), to produce gasoline that meets required specifications,” NNPC said.

“Blending is a standard practice in refineries globally, as no single unit can produce gasoline that fully complies with any country’s standards without such processes.”

Additionally, the NNPC said it has made substantial progress on the new Port Harcourt refinery, “which will begin operations soon without prior announcements”.

“We urge Nigerians to focus on the remarkable achievements being realized under the able and progressive leadership of President Bola Tinubu and to support efforts aimed at delivering more dividends to the nation,” the energy firm said.

According to the statement, malicious attacks on “clear progress” only undermine the “significant strides made by NNPC Ltd and the country”.