Despite the queues at Petrol Staions accross the Nation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, on Monday said, it had about 1.8 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, that would be enough from mid-February to March 2023. It said this was part of concerted efforts put in place to sustain the supply of petroleum products across the country, in order to forestall the re-emergence of queues in Nigeria.
“Although we have started loading, the product is yet to go round. Besides, NNPCL depots ran out of supplies over the weekend, but we are hoping products will be available this week so that we will resume loading,” one of the marketers had stated on Sunday.
However, the scarcity situation seems far from over especially as Petrol Stations outside Lagos are still selling fuel above N280 per litre. Meanwhile, in Lagos, the queues are only shorter but most Nigerians are still paying far above N185 per litre approved pump price of petrol amid fuel scarcity, a report of the National Bureau of Statistics has indicated.
Business 360 News over the weekend had observed that members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, and NNPCL Retail outlets, sold the product at N185 per litre to consumers, while members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria on the other hand, sold PMS between N200 and N250 per litre.
However, the NBS in its Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) price watch for January 2023 stated that on average, Nigerians paid the sum of N257.12 per litre for the product. The report noted that the average price in January 2023 was an annual increase of 54.52 per cent and a monthly increase of 24.70 per cent.
It read in part, “The average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) for January 2023 was N257.12, indicating a 54.52 per cent increase relative to the value recorded in January 2022 (N166.40). “Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (. i.e., December 2022), the average retail price increased by 24.70 per cent from N206.19.”
NNPCL, Gambia sign MoU on oil exploration
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Gambian National Petroleum Company for oil exploration and crude market expansion, among others.
Both partners signed the MoU at the headquarters of NNPC Ltd in Abuja, as the national oil company continued to expand its oil production drive within and outside Nigeria.
The firm tweeted that the agreement was for collaboration in the oil and gas sector, adding that NNPC Ltd’s Executive Vice President, Business Services, Danladi Inuwa, and GNPC’s Managing Director, Baboucarr Njie, signed on behalf of the two national oil companies.
“Areas of interest include new frontier exploration, crude oil market expansion opportunities and transfer of technology towards the quest for more energy security for both countries and the West African sub-region,” NNPC Ltd stated. NNPC Ltd has been expanding it exploration for crude oil, as it recently announced that it found crude in Nasarawa State.
The Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, announced on Thursday that the oil firm would commence the drilling of crude oil in Nasarawa State on March 21, 2023. He explained that exploration for crude oil in Nasarawa State actually commenced since late 2010.
