Petrol shortage: 80 million litres of fuel arrive, discharge in Lagos
As the prolonged petrol shortage continues to hit some parts of Nigeria, especially Lagos and its environs, four vessels arrived, over the weekend, to discharge the product at the Ijegun-Egba Tankfarm in Lagos.
A visit to the facility showed that the vessels carrying a total of about 80 million litres were still discharging the product to tank farm owners.
The tank farm owners including A.A. RANO Nigeria Limited, JGold Nigeria Limited, Chipet International Limited, Emadeb Energy Services Limited, First Royal Oil Nigeria Limited, MAO Petroleum Company Limited, Menj Oil Limited, Ocean Pride Energy Services Limited, Stallionaire Nigeria Limited, Wosbab Energy Solutions Limited and Rainoil Limited would take the product to their outlets as well as sell to independent marketers at the government N172 per litre regulated price.
Independent marketers lift at N172 per litre
In a telephone interview with Vanguard, yesterday, the Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, lPMAN, Mr Mike Osatuyi, said members of the association have started lifting petrol from the facility at the government-regulated price.
He said: “I can confirm that our members have started lifting at the N172 per litre government-regulated price. If the supply is sustained, we look forward to achieving stability in the sector.”
Marketers should sell at N184 per litre — Minister
Similarly, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timpre Sylva, who was in Lagos to inspect some filling stallions, said the government has taken steps toward enhancing the supply of the product nationwide.
He said: “I observed the availability of the product in the state. Petrol is everywhere both in Lagos and Abuja. I visited many stations in Ikeja and the mainland and from every indication, there is a product everywhere. I want to assure Nigerians that the queues will disappear in a matter of days.
“The situation which we witness in Lagos has been achieved in 15 states across the country. The President has ordered that queues must be cleared immediately.”
Need for monitoring
The Minister of state also stressed the need for regular monitoring of various locations, especially tank farms, depots and filling stations in order to check the excesses of some operators.
He said: “I have directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, to upscale its regulatory activities to ensure marketers abide by the current price regime.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, retail outlets are selling At N184 per litre and over 900 outlets operated by the company are selling at that price and that is the official price everybody is expected to sell.”
Defaulting operators will be sanctioned — NMDPRA
The Regional Coordinator South West of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Engr. Lukeman Ayorinde Cardoso said defaulting operators would be sanctioned.
He said: “We are ramping up enforcement because of the new regime at every product. You can see that right now, we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Things are getting better right now.
“I can say that as at today, the inland depots have about 580 million litres, and in the marine, offshore, you have about 690 million litres as well. So, all in all, in both marine and inland depots, you have about 1.3 billion litres.
“So, that shows that we have sufficient fuel, and all these figures translate to about 22 sufficiency days. We know we also have issues with distribution, but they are also being addressed just like the Chairman said earlier on.”
Tank farms expect more vessels
The chairman of the Ijegun-Egba Tankfarm Owners and Operators Association, Mr Adebowale Olujimi, said the operators expect other vessels to discharge the product in the coming weeks.
Already, he said: “The NNPC Limited has delivered over 150 million litres to us this month. Some vessels are currently discharging at the jetty. Nigerians can trust us to serve them. Going forward, we expect that the product will be sold at the retail end of the business at affordable prices which the government has fixed for each area where Nigerians can get the product at the right pump price and in all the filling stations across the country.”
Petrol queues persist in Lagos, environs
However, checks by Vanguard, yesterday, indicated that, unlike Abuja where normalcy has already returned, there were still fuel queues at filling stations in Lagos and the environs.
While many independent marketers without stocks simply closed their gates against motorists and other users of the product, others were seen selling at between N280 and N300 per litre and were opened for business.
However, major marketers with the product continued to sell at between N170 and N180 per litre while many hawkers were noticed selling the products in jerry cans at between N250 and N400 per litre, depending on location.
(TNT)
