Business

Fuel Scarcity: Lingering crisis not deliberate attempt to influence, scuttle elections – NNPC

Published

4 years ago

February 3, 2023

Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari

In a veiled response to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) yesterday said it stands to benefit nothing by wanting to create artificial fuel scarcity to influence the oncoming general election.
But as Nigerians continue to groan over the lingering petrol scarcity and queues at filling stations, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) has said NNPC lacks the capacity to supply and distribute the volume of petrol that would serve all Nigerians.Tinubu had in an outburst during his campaign trail, insinuated that the current problems besetting the country, including petrol scarcity and naira shortages were done to hobble his chances of winning the presidential poll.
But the Group Executive Officer of the NNPC, who spoke on the state-owned Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), argued that the nationwide petrol scarcity was not new and wasn’t targeted at anyone.

According to him, the shortage of the product began in 2022 and had continued intermittently despite efforts to curb it.
He reiterated there was no supply problem in the system, but said the market dynamics in terms of logistics and handling charges have changed, thereby affecting prices.
He explained that to deliver Nigeria’s daily 60 million litres consumption, there has to be at least 1,800 tankers on the road daily which may take up to seven days to get to their destinations. Kyari stated that there’s no scarcity of fuel, stressing that the situation has been further compounded by consumer behaviour and panic buying.

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He highlighted the current attempts to end the fuel queues, stressing that prices would soon crash at the depots to ensure normalcy.
According to him, Nigeria’s current fuel consumption accounts for about 70 per cent of the entire West African sub-region.
The GCEO said while the West African region would have been a huge market, the arbitrage being created by differences in prices was making things difficult for the industry.

“There’s greed across the value chain,” he stated.
Kyari stated that the initial design of the petrol pipelines was such that no truck would move beyond 400km, but that the Jesse fire in Delta made it impossible to pump petrol from Warri to Benin and then Ore.
As for the atlas cove, he said the NNPC was losing 24 per cent of its products due to activities of vandals and had to be shut down, while Port Harcourt to Aba was also losing much before it was shut down.
He added that due to the age of the pipeline and the shallowness of the facilities, it was important to rebuild them under the Build, Operate and Transfer method.“I do not think anybody sits down to orchestrate that there should be scarcity so that it will impact elections and so on. I don’t think it happens that way if it is so. But it is not true because the reality is that these glitches actually started early in 2022.
“It has nothing to do with this election period. Once you have a challenge of this nature, it is a cyclical thing. Once you have this challenge, they continue to come up, and then once you have arbitrage issues, you have this glitch.“Today, our redundancy in terms of petroleum products supply is just three days in this country. Once you have a glitch that extends longer than three days, you need another three weeks to stabilise it. So irrespective of who does what, whatever causes the three-day glitch, it is a nightmare waiting to happen.
“Once we see this glitch, that is why we do everything possible to avoid the glitches from happening. I do not think anyone will sit down and say let us create this so that there will be an impact on the elections and so on.“There is no benefit in it. No one would do this and I can tell you this very clearly that there is no one issue that bothers the president like this. There is no briefing that I do to the president that he does not mention this,” Kyari stated.
He explained said it was impossible to link petrol shortage to the elections, noting that NNPC was doing everything in its power to control the situation.
“Yes, there are a lot of glitches. There are a lot of logistics and nightmares. Greed has come into play. There are cross-border issues that we have to deal with. There are international market situations that you have to deal with,” he said.

Kyari maintained that Nigeria has enough stock in-country, but added that distribution was a major challenge.
“We do not have a supply problem because as we speak now, we have over 28 days of supply even if we evacuate up to 60 million litres of PMS every day. We have a distribution problem that comes up as a result of the shift in the cost of logistics in our business taking fuel from the mother vessels to the terminals into trucks to the fuel stations.

“Several things have changed and we do not have an automatic adjustment system that will resolve this as a result of the fuel subsidy regime we are currently operating in the country. However, fuel subsidy payments are understandable to protect consumers from the vagaries of market forces,” he noted.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, stated that there’s about 28 days offshore capacity while there’s 12 days onshore, stressing that there has been an increase in charges to move vessels from offshore to onshore from about $19,000 to $60,000 per day in some locations.

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He stated that there have been glitches on the road, including accidents which created huge gaps and by extension, arbitrage. He noted that tens of filling stations that flouted the rules had been shut down.

MOMAN: NNPC Alone Cannot Supply All Petrol Needed by Nigerians

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of MOMAN, Mr. Clement Isong, during a phone chat with THISDAY, explained that the NNPC was challenged by insufficient storage and distribution facilities that would enable it supply products to marketers.
Isong, who pointed out that entrepreneurs needed incentives to participate in the downstream oil and gas supply chain in the country and help address the disruption in supply and distribution, however, assured that the fuel scarcity and queues might ease in few weeks’ time if all the players comply with the rules agreed at the stakeholder meeting held on Tuesday at the instance of the NNPC.
At the meeting held in Abuja, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, had told the participants that the government was not handicapped in halting the fuel crisis, threatening to use military sanctions on marketers causing the artificial scarcity and pains on Nigerians.

Also, Kyari had equally stated at the meeting that the challenge was monumental and was taking unanticipated dimensions, maintaining that the issue was not a supply problem.

But speaking with THISDAY, the MOMAN Executive Secretary noted that NNPC had brought all the products the country needs but that most them were offshore, adding that solving the fuel crisis need the cooperation from many operators in the system, with right incentives and right business environment.

Isong said, “The truth of the matter is that NNPC by itself cannot supply the entire Nigerian market. They have brought all the products the country needs, most of it is offshore. It is challenged. Distribution in the country is such that NNPC cannot bring all of it onshore by itself –use its own facilities and distribute to the Nigeria public. They need cooperation from very many operators in the system.

“So, it needs the entrepreneurs –people who will go and buy the product, pay for it, hire daughter vessels to go and pick it from the mother vessels and bring them onshore. It needs operators in the market who own depot facilities. Many of the NNPC depot facilities which were connected to the pipelines are either non-functional or insufficient.

“The Atlascove which is connected only by a pipeline system is not functional because people along the pipeline have made holes along the pipelines. The Warri Refinery, Port Harcourt Refinery are not functional but they have depots there, but those facilities are not sufficient. So, it needs to then hire facilities from depot owners along the coast, or depot owners will go and buy from the NNPC vessels and put in their facilities to distribute.”

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He further said the situation also required transporters and entrepreneurs to buy trucks, maintain those trucks and take the products to the filling stations for distribution to Nigerians, maintaining that the situation also requires the filling stations to cooperate and sell the product at the right prices to Nigerians.

Unlike the threats of military sanctions on marketers by Irabor and the Department of State Security (DSS), the MOMAN CEO said, “these are not things you can force people to do. People will only do them if the incentive is right; if the business environment is right, if the return on investment is right. It’s not something you do buy force.”

Currently, according to him, the legal structure in operation in the downstream sector was the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) but that the downstream market was not operating under that legal structure as petrol prices were still being set by government in breach of the law.

Arguing that if marketers bring the product and were not recovering their costs and that their money served them better elsewhere, there would not be entrepreneurs that would be incentivized to participate in the business.

Isong, who called for a level of volunteerism and incentivisation in the downstream business, added that all stakeholders must come to the table and agree to play their part in the business.

That, he explained, was what the stakeholders’ meeting was about, “it was arriving at what was reasonable for all the players in the supply chain to participate and play their role in the supply chain and to agree the level of incentives that would make them play that role fairly. So, at the end of the meeting, everybody pretty much agreed to abide by the rules as we agreed.”

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According to him, “if those rules are sufficiently incentivising, what we expect is that over the next few days, people will go and start hiring vessels again, which they had stopped hiring, to go and start collecting products from the outside storage to put it through their depots. The trucks that had stop coming or that had gone to other places, will start coming back to do business.

“And then, it will make sense to sell petrol through filling stations again, rather than selling in jerry cans. Everybody will come to the business and the price will come down because people are properly incentivised to do the marketing in the correct way.”

He explained that the rules established at the Tuesday stakeholders’ meeting were rules about handling of the product and about maximum cost that could be borne along the supply chain.

Isong further said, “The vessel cost is much, so we agreed that the vessels must not cost much. The transport cost must not cost much. It’s just an agreement as to the handshake in the supply chain to make sure that everybody plays his role efficiently and properly incentivise or motivate us.”

He, however, assured that if all players cooperate, the petrol scarcity and queues would ease in the next few weeks.

On whether the body language of the federal government was telling them that the government was seriously preparing to achieve the June target for subsidy removal, the MOMAN CEO, said the industry stakeholders and government were basically trying to keep the system going until subsidy removal.

“We are trying to put together a regime that will survive until subsidy is removed. So, to me, the meeting was all positive, positive. It was agreed that if anybody misbehaves, then he is on his own. What happens to him is his fault. Everybody should play by the rules that were freely and openly negotiated on Tuesday,” he added.

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Railway

Rail-Port-Industry Link Critical to Cutting Logistics Costs – NRC

Published

3 days ago

September 24, 2026

Trends Admin

Rail-Port-Industry Link Critical to Cutting Logistics Costs – NRC

The Nigerian Railway Corporation has said Nigeria must urgently integrate its rail network with seaports, inland dry ports and industrial centres to cut logistics costs, ease pressure on the highways and make the movement of goods across the country more efficient.

The NRC said a seamless connection between rail lines, ports and major production centres would strengthen the movement of agricultural produce, containers, petroleum products and other bulk cargoes, while reducing the cost and time involved in transporting goods from ports to markets and industries.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NRC, Dr Kayode Opeifa, stated this on Thursday in Lagos in a speech delivered on his behalf at the Transport Correspondents Association of Nigeria conference, stressing that rail, road, maritime, inland waterways and aviation must work as an integrated transportation system if Nigeria is to unlock the full economic benefits of its logistics sector.

The NRC boss also revealed that the corporation had opened the door wider for private investors to participate in the development of freight terminals, logistics hubs, rolling stock and other critical infrastructure as part of efforts to transform Nigeria’s rail system into a major engine of economic growth.

He said stronger private-sector participation was imperative because government alone could not provide the massive investment required to build an efficient and interconnected transportation system capable of lowering logistics costs and boosting economic activities.

Opeifa said Nigeria could no longer afford to develop its transportation modes in isolation, stressing the need to connect rail with seaports, inland dry ports, industrial centres and major economic corridors.

He said such integration would enable rail to play a greater role in moving bulk cargo across the country, while reducing the pressure currently placed on the highways.

According to him, rail has the capacity to move large volumes of passengers and freight over long distances and should therefore become a critical component of Nigeria’s logistics architecture.

He said, “At the Nigerian Railway Corporation, our focus is therefore not only on passenger transportation but also on strengthening freight operations and creating greater connectivity between rail lines, seaports, inland dry ports, industrial centres and major economic corridors.”

The NRC MD identified agricultural produce, petroleum products, containers and other commodities as some of the major categories of cargo that could benefit from a more efficient rail freight system.

He said an effective multimodal transportation network involving rail, road, maritime, inland waterways and aviation would reduce the cost of doing business, improve access to markets and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness.

Opeifa also called for a regulatory framework capable of attracting private capital into the transportation sector, particularly in rolling stock, freight terminals, logistics hubs and related infrastructure.

“The future of Nigeria’s transportation sector must also be driven by stronger partnerships. Government alone cannot provide all the infrastructure and investment required,” he said.

The NRC’s position comes amid growing concerns over the high cost of logistics and the burden placed on Nigerian businesses by inefficient movement of goods from ports to markets and production centres.

Opeifa said transportation infrastructure should be viewed not simply as public assets but as critical economic infrastructure capable of stimulating industrial production, trade and employment.

He, however, warned that vandalism and encroachment remained major threats to railway investments, stressing the need for stronger collaboration among government agencies, security organisations, host communities and passengers to protect railway tracks, bridges, signalling systems and other infrastructure.

He said the protection of rail infrastructure must become a collective responsibility if the country was to derive the full economic benefits of ongoing investments in the sector.

The NRC chief executive also stressed the need to make transportation affordable and accessible, noting that improved mobility would provide Nigerians with greater access to jobs, markets, education and economic opportunities.

Opeifa reaffirmed the NRC’s commitment to the Federal Government’s vision of developing a modern, integrated and efficient transportation system capable of supporting the country’s economic aspirations.

He commended TCAN for providing a platform for policymakers, operators, investors, professionals and the media to deliberate on the challenges and opportunities in Nigeria’s transportation sector.

He said sustained investment, innovation, collaboration and effective policy implementation remained essential to building a logistics system capable of unlocking Nigeria’s economic potential.

Business

FG Seeks Private Capital, States’ Support to Transform Nigeria’s Ports

Published

3 days ago

September 24, 2026

Trends Admin

FG Seeks Private Capital, States’ Support to Transform Nigeria’s Ports

The Federal Government has called for deeper participation by the private sector and subnational governments in financing port infrastructure, operating terminals and deploying technology as part of an ambitious plan to modernise Nigeria’s seaports and cut logistics costs.

Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, made the call on Thursday at the 2026 Transport Industry Summit of the Transport Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN), held at the Radisson Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

Oyetola represented by Mr. Paul Garnuwa, Director, Inland Transport Services, NPERA, said the Federal Government could not shoulder the entire financial and operational burden of developing the country’s maritime infrastructure, stressing that sustainable port development required stronger partnerships among the Federal Government, state governments, private investors and other stakeholders.

He said the government was therefore seeking greater private-sector participation in infrastructure financing, terminal operations, technology deployment and logistics services, while also encouraging state governments to participate in the development of new maritime gateways.

The minister disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved a major modernisation programme covering Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos, Onne and Rivers ports in Rivers State, Calabar Port in Cross River and Warri Port in Delta State.

According to him, the programme will involve reconstruction of quay walls, deepening of channels to accommodate larger vessels, replacement of obsolete cargo-handling equipment and increased digitalisation of terminal and gate operations.

He said the scale of the planned intervention made private capital and institutional partnerships critical to delivering modern, efficient and commercially sustainable ports.

“Port efficiency affects the entire logistics chain. A delay at the port does not remain at the port. It affects manufacturers waiting for inputs, exporters waiting for vessels, transport operators, distributors and, ultimately, consumers,” Oyetola said.

The minister also disclosed that the Federal Government was working with state governments and private-sector investors on the development of deep seaports in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ogun, Ondo and Rivers states.

He said the projects would expand national port capacity, create new maritime and logistics corridors, ease pressure on existing gateways and distribute economic activities along the coastline.

Oyetola said the government was particularly interested in ensuring that states and private investors became active participants in port development rather than relying solely on federal funding.

The minister further stressed the importance of technology in transforming port operations, noting that modern logistics required electronic documentation, accurate information, data-sharing and digital systems capable of reducing unnecessary physical processes.

He said digitalisation would improve cargo visibility, make port processes more predictable and ultimately reduce the time and cost of moving goods from seaports to their final destinations.

Oyetola said recent improvements had already attracted international recognition, citing the 2025 Container Port Performance Index by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, which ranked Tin Can Island Port 10th and Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, 12th among the world’s 20 most improved container ports between 2020 and 2025.

He also announced that the United States Coast Guard had in August 2026 removed its Conditions of Entry on vessels arriving from Nigeria after 12 years of additional security-related requirements.

According to him, the development followed sustained efforts to improve compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, strengthen access controls and address security gaps.

Oyetola said the newly established Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency would also help create a more predictable investment environment through regulation of tariffs and charges, service standards, competition and protection of port users. The agency commenced operations in August following presidential assent to its enabling law.

He said effective regulation, security and infrastructure must work together with private investment and technology to make Nigeria’s ports more competitive.

“Our immediate priority is to ensure that the investments and institutional changes now underway translate into practical improvements: faster cargo movement, improved vessel turnaround, greater capacity, stronger security, transparent regulation and lower logistics costs,” he said.

Oyetola urged development partners, financial institutions, state governments and industry associations to support the reform programme, stressing that greater collaboration was essential if transportation logistics was to make a stronger contribution to Nigeria’s economic growth.

Business

Petrol Depot Prices Fall as Dangote, Marketers Cut Rates, Pump Price Reduction Looms

Published

4 days ago

September 23, 2026

Trends Admin

Petrol Depot Prices Fall as Dangote, Marketers Cut Rates, Pump Price Reduction Looms

The price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, has fallen across several major Nigerian depots, with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery cutting its wholesale price by N25 per litre, raising expectations that filling stations could begin reducing pump prices as they replenish their stocks.

The latest reductions were recorded in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Warri, following a decline in international crude oil prices and renewed competition among petroleum suppliers.

Dangote Refinery reduced its petrol ex-gantry price from N1,350 to N1,325 per litre, just days after raising the price to N1,350.

The latest adjustment means the refinery has reversed part of the N85 increase introduced on September 12, when its petrol gantry price rose from N1,265 to N1,350 per litre.

Other major depot operators also reduced their prices, particularly in Lagos, where several companies cut their rates by between N20 and N24 per litre.

In Lagos, Ascon, Integrated, Pinnacle and Sahara reduced their petrol prices by N24 to between N1,326 and N1,327 per litre.

MRS reduced its price by N20 to N1,332, while Wosbab was listed at N1,330 per litre.

The reductions were also recorded outside Lagos.

In Calabar, Mainland reduced its petrol price by N7 to N1,320 per litre, while Alkanes cut its price by N2 to N1,325. Matrix retained N1,330, while Sobaz marginally increased its price by N1 to N1,328.

In Port Harcourt, Stockgap reduced its petrol price by N7 to N1,323 per litre, while Masters cut its rate by N2 to N1,328. Bulk Strategic and Sigmund were listed at N1,328, while Matrix retained N1,330.

In Warri, Keonamex reduced its price by N3 to N1,327, while Nepal and Prudent cut their rates to N1,329 and N1,328 respectively. Some operators, however, recorded marginal increases, underscoring the continuing volatility in the downstream market.

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The latest wholesale adjustments followed a decline in global crude prices, with Brent crude trading below $100 per barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also declined.

The movement is important to Nigeria’s petrol price market because international crude and refined-product prices influence the cost of locally refined products as well as imported PMS.

Brent had climbed as high as about $109 per barrel the previous week before retreating below the $100 mark, although other crude benchmarks have moved differently.

The latest decline has provided some room for refiners and marketers to review wholesale petrol prices downward, but further reductions will depend on the direction of crude prices, foreign exchange conditions and the cost of refined petroleum products.

The reduction at the depots has not, however, immediately translated into equivalent reductions at filling stations.

Petrol was still selling at between about N1,370 and N1,450 per litre in different locations, according to the latest market checks.

In Abuja, motorists and commuters complained that several filling stations had not reduced their pump prices despite the Dangote price cut.

Some stations were still selling petrol at between N1,395 and N1,450 per litre, creating a significant gap between the new Dangote depot price and some retail prices.

The delay is partly linked to the way the deregulated downstream petroleum market operates.

Retailers that purchased their existing stocks at higher prices may continue selling those products at prevailing rates until the stocks are exhausted and replaced with cheaper supplies.

Transportation, storage, logistics, station operating costs and individual marketers’ margins also influence the final pump price.

Consequently, a reduction in the ex-depot price does not automatically translate into an immediate N25 reduction at every filling station.

The latest wholesale price movement nevertheless places additional competitive pressure on retailers, particularly as more marketers begin lifting cheaper products.

It also comes as domestic refining continues to take a larger share of Nigeria’s petrol supply.

Data attributed to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) showed that domestic refineries supplied about 76.7 per cent of Nigeria’s petrol requirement in the first quarter of 2026, while petrol imports fell by about 60 per cent year-on-year to approximately 965.5 million litres.

The figures reflect the growing importance of the Dangote Refinery and other domestic refining facilities in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.

However, imported petrol has not disappeared from the country’s supply chain.

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The Federal Government has approved the importation of 830,000 metric tonnes of petrol for the fourth quarter of 2026, ahead of the Christmas and New Year period when fuel demand traditionally rises.

The permits were reportedly issued to Matrix Energy, AA Rano, AYM Shafa, NIPCO, Pinnacle Oil and Bono Energy.

The latest allocation represents an increase from earlier import approvals this year and means imported PMS will remain part of Nigeria’s supply mix despite the expansion of domestic refining capacity.

The import programme has also become a point of contention between Dangote Refinery and the downstream regulator.

Dangote Refinery is challenging the continued issuance of petrol import licences by the NMDPRA, arguing that domestic refining capacity is sufficient to meet local demand.

The legal dispute is before the Federal High Court, with the matter scheduled for further hearing on October 7, 2026.

The continuing import programme, however, reflects concerns about supply security.

NMDPRA data cited in industry reports showed that domestic petrol supply declined from about 32.5 million litres per day in June to 25.8 million litres per day in July, while imports increased from approximately 18.1 million litres per day to 19.7 million litres per day during the same period.

Total daily petrol supply consequently fell from 50.6 million litres to 45.5 million litres.

The figures indicate that although domestic refineries now provide the larger share of Nigeria’s petrol, imports can still serve as a buffer when local production falls below market requirements.

Another factor affecting the competitiveness of local refining is import parity.

The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria had estimated petrol import parity at between N1,364.02 and N1,365.02 per litre as of September 17.

Dangote’s new N1,325 per litre price is therefore below that earlier import-parity estimate, although actual import costs continue to change with international prices, exchange rates, freight and other charges.

The development could encourage more marketers to source products from domestic refineries if local products remain commercially competitive with imported alternatives.

It also illustrates the changing structure of Nigeria’s fuel market, where international crude prices remain important but domestic refining capacity, competition and supply availability are increasingly influencing prices.

The Federal Government has also been engaging operators in the downstream sector over petrol pricing and supply.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has convened consultations involving refiners, depot owners, marketers and retailers as the government seeks greater stability in the petroleum market.

For consumers, the immediate issue remains whether the reduction in wholesale prices will translate into cheaper petrol at the pump.

The latest reduction provides room for a downward movement, but the timing and size of any retail price cut will depend on the cost of existing stocks, new depot prices, transportation expenses, market competition and the direction of international crude prices.

The volatility of the market has also been reflected in the diesel segment.

Some depots reduced the price of automotive gas oil, with Lagos recording reductions of up to N15 per litre at some operators, while Port Harcourt and Warri also recorded significant cuts.

The movement in both petrol and diesel prices comes at a time when high energy costs continue to affect transportation, logistics, food distribution and operating expenses for Nigerian households and businesses.

If the lower crude prices persist and wholesale petrol prices remain at the new levels, motorists could see further reductions as cheaper stocks move through the distribution chain.

For now, the latest petrol depot price cuts have created a new opportunity for pump-price reductions, although the immediate impact will vary from one location and retailer to another.

The development also reinforces the increasingly competitive nature of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, with Dangote Refinery, other domestic suppliers and importers competing to meet demand under a deregulated pricing regime.