Oil dealers have not yet started loading Premium Motor Spirit, or gasoline, even though the federal government has promised that the product will be available this weekend.
Though a few PMS vessels had reached the NNPC storage facilities in Apapa and Port Harcourt, independent marketers were yet to begin loading from the facility.
Because of this, even though Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), had earlier stated that gasoline will be readily available by the weekend, gasoline lines remained on Friday in key cities.
Nevertheless, Mustapha Zarma, the National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, announced on Friday that product loading at depots has not yet begun and that queues could last till Monday.
There has not been much product loading as of yesterday (Thursday) and today (Friday), but maybe tomorrow or Sunday will see an improvement in supplies. Also, I don’t believe there has been much loading today.
The queues are still obvious as a result. The minister announced a large product release, but we can’t confirm it until oil traders haven’t started loading up trucks with Premium Motor Spirit, or gasoline—even if the federal government said this weekend.
As a result, fuel lineups continue on Friday in major towns despite earlier statements from Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), that petrol will be easily available by the weekend.
On whether the petrol being expected was the one from the Dangote refinery, Zarma replied, “I am not in a position to answer that. It is NNPC that should answer that.”NNPC earlier stated on Thursday that it would start lifting products from the Dangote refinery on September 15, 2024.
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Zarma had told our correspondent on Thursday that about 2,000 petrol tankers were still at various NNPC depots waiting to lift products.
He said, “The queues in Abuja are heavy. Nobody is loading. Right now, most of the tickets of independent marketers, which had been paid for since the last three months have not been cleared to load.”
The President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, also confirmed that marketers had yet to start lifting petrol as required.
“We are aware of what the minister said, but we don’t have products yet. We have not started lifting the product as it is supposed to be and that is why the cost is very high in filling stations that have it.
“People struggle so much to get the product to sell to keep their businesses running. Once the products are readily accessible, the price will stabilise and the queues will clear. That is the situation.”
Again, report reaching rapidospace News (Online News platform) state that, an aid to the president said the Dangote Refinery was shying away from pricing in order not to look bad to Nigerians.
An official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue, emphasized that the refinery alone sets the pricing for fuel and cannot sell it below its cost.
“The price of petrol cannot drop below N1,000. That’s why Dangote pushed the responsibility to the government. If the Federal Government sets the price, it becomes their issue, not the private company’s,” the official explained.
On Thursday, Anthony Chiejina, Chief Branding and Communications Officer for Dangote Group, stated that the PMS market in Nigeria is tightly regulated. He clarified that the refinery must wait for directives from relevant government agencies regarding pricing.
“The PMS market is well-regulated, as all oil marketers and industry stakeholders are aware. Therefore, we cannot set or influence the product price, which falls under the jurisdiction of government authorities,” Chiejina said.
In contrast, the NNPC, through its spokesman Olufemi Soneye, claimed that the PMS market has been deregulated and that market forces now determine fuel prices.
Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices,” the NNPC submitted. Experts told our correspondent that if the NNPC and the Federal Government allowed market forces to determine the price of Dangote petrol, it might be as high as N1,000 per litre.
“Can Nigerians buy petrol at N1,000 or N1,100?” a depot operator queried, asking the government to intervene to ensure affordable energy for Nigerians.
Speaking with our correspondent, an energy consultant and expert, Henry Adigun, said the cost of producing a litre of PMS is an average of N750, without any additional cost.
According to Adigun, this could rise to N800/litre when other margins are added, which will also increase when it gets to the filling stations.
He stated that the NNPC could decide to buy from Dangote and sell at a subsidised rate to the masses. The consultant, however, called for transparency in the entire process.
“Anybody that is expecting N400 or N500 petrol is just wasting his time. It won’t happen,” Adigun added.
Similarly, Professor Emeritus, Wumi Iledare, held that the PIA did not empower anyone to set the price of petrol, saying it should be determined by the forces of demand and supply.
Iledare stated that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had the responsibility to ensure there was no price gouging.
The don advocated for a willing seller, willing buyer arrangement, saying the NMDPRA should not allow the NNPC to be the sole buyer of Dangote PMS.
