Osamagbe Imadiyi
Due to the recent increase in the cost of importing PMS and the subsequent rise in the commodity’s importation, the pump prices of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) may increase even more in the days ahead.
Following the Federal Government’s purported refusal to extend the naira-for-crude agreement, the Dangote refinery suspended selling petroleum products in naira to local marketers, which coincided with the spike in imported gasoline.
The Technical Sub-Committee on the Naira-for-Crude Policy, the Dangote refinery, and other government officials were supposed to meet on Monday, but according to reports on Tuesday, the meeting did not go as planned. The meeting was rescheduled and might take place before the Sallah break, according to insiders with knowledge of the committee’s operations.
The meeting was canceled, according to a committee source, because the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission had not yet provided the committee with potential options regarding the naira-for-crude deal.
According to data gathered by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria on Wednesday, the landing cost of one liter of imported gasoline rose by N88 in a single week. This development is likely to have an impact on the commodity’s pump prices in the days ahead.
However, MEMAN-affiliated stakeholders claimed that people who were used to price control in the past are opposed to the current changes in the downstream industry, arguing that price changes are unavoidable in a deregulated market. Seven ships carrying imported Premium Motor Spirit were reportedly scheduled to dock at seaports along the country’s borders between March 17 and March 23.
A document that was obtained from the Nigerian Port Authority states that in order to improve the fuel supply across the country, these vessels carrying 115,000 metric tonnes, or 154.22 million liters of PMS, were to bring in products through three seaports.
The commodities landed at the Calabar port in Cross River State, the Tincan port in Lagos, and the Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos, according to an examination of the NPA document. In the same time frame, the Dangote refinery imported 654,766 metric tonnes of crude oil, according to the document.
In order to increase their profits, depot owners allegedly raised their prices. It was noted that the Federal Government has remained silent regarding the Dangote refinery’s announcement, leaving downstream petroleum industry participants to speculate.
