Petrol price hits N1,000 per litre

The average price of a litre of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, has reached N1,000 at most filling stations operated by the Independent Oil Marketers in many parts of the country as scarcity persist.

Thefrontrank reports that at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited(NNPCL) filling stations, the prices at of the product range from N568 to N617 per litre, resulting in queues at the stations.

The NNPCL had last week said that it was selling petrol at only half the land costing.

Umar Ajiya, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of NNPCL, disclosed that the national oil company is only bearing what he called the “shortfall” and not subsidy.

Nigerians are raising concerns about the high cost of PMS by independent petrol dealers, who are dispensing the product at exorbitant rates.

Defending their action, the Independent Oil Marketers claimed that they have been buying petrol from private depot owners for as high as N850 per litre since last week and that this was why the pump prices were high.

However, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), George Ene-Ita, argued that the petrol price reports that the regulator gets from its officials at the depots were different.

Findings show that marketers are making more profit as the fuel crisis in the country has refused to end.

Many owners of filling stations are using the opportunity to add to their margins as regulators could not enforce any particular price.

Due to the low supply from NNPCL, private depot owners were said to have hiked the price of petrol as high as N850 per litre.

The depots sell to independent marketers, who could not get the product directly from the NNPCL at about N570 per litre like the major marketers.

In return, the independent marketers sell a litre of petrol to motorists and other Nigerians at prices between N900 and N1,000 in most areas.

“That is why no marketer is complaining of low margins again. This is the time for them to make money. The only issue is that getting the product is not that easy,” said a source.

According to the source, the price is high because the supply is low. It is a matter of demand and supply. The price will continue to be up, at least for now. It is an opportunity for the filling stations to add to their margins.

“Imagine when you pay about N30 million to NNPC to order petrol and it takes about one month to get the product. Assuming you take N30 million from a bank with this interest rate, is that not a problem,” said a marketer.

Sources at a Lagos depot disclosed that the NNPCL is still rationing the product despite assurances that normalcy would be restored last week.

It was gathered that marketers could only get half of whatever metric tonnes they bid for.

A depot operator said though the situation had improved a bit, the supply is still far below what is required to ease off the queues and make the product available for all Nigerians.

Another source hinted that the Federal Government is now prioritising the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to reduce the long queues in filling stations.

In Akure, the Ondo State capital and its surroundings, petrol is being sold by filling stations owned by independent marketers at prices ranging from N900 to N1000 per litre.

However, the few major marketers that dispensed petrol, sold the product for N650 per litre.

Many filling stations within the metropolis did not open to customers, as commercial intra-city bus operators increased their charges by 50 per cent due to the high cost of fuel.

As of Monday, petrol was priced between N900 and N1,000 at stations owned by independent dealers in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.

Many marketers in Kano metropolis did not open their filling stations despite having the commodity in stock, black markets continued to thrive.

A litre of PMS at filling stations owned by independent marketers still sold for N980 and N1,000 per litre in Kano State.

However, the black marketers are selling between N1,200 and N1,300.

Contrary to claims that the marketers might be hoarding fuel, the manager of a filling station in Abeokuta, Ogun State, who identified himself as Adeyanju, said no one hoards fuel because it will continue to dry up.

“The way PMS is, if you put 33,000 litres in a tank, if you hoard it for too long, by the time you want to haulage it, it may not be more than 31,000 or 32,000 litres. It will be evaporating.

“No tank operator will ever hoard fuel, not even at this time when people are making money,” the manager disclosed.

He added that no miracle could clear off the queues soon, asking the NNPC to ramp up supply.