PETROL SCARCITY CONTINUES AS PRIVATE DEPOTS SELL FOR N240/LITRE

From roughly N225 per litre the week before, private depots increased the cost of gasoline by 6.7 percent to N240 per litre this week.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, or IPMAN, claimed that the present petrol shortage might last until June 2023, when the government is expected to remove its subsidy.

Yesterday, the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, or NMDPRA—whose organization is in charge of overseeing operations in the midstream and downstream sectors is yet to repond as the price of fuel in private stores increased by 6.7 percent yesterday to N240 per litre.

According to information gathered by ValidView Network, there are several private depots with commercial stockpiles of gasoline where fuel lifting is still happening.

It also demonstrated that the seven depots, including Bluefin, Rainoil, Ardova, and Nepal, which were closed for selling the product for more than N148 a litre, have been reopened by the NMDPRA.

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According to information obtained by ValidView Network, the depots are still selling desperate independent marketers’ gasoline for more than N200 per litre.

Mr. Mike Osatuyi, IPMAN’s National Operations Controller, revealed that association members had not yet begun lifting the commodity at the earlier-anticipated price of N148 per litre.

He asserts that the current petrol shortage may last until June 2023, when the Federal Government is expected to end the subsidies.

He said: “We are getting the product between N230 per litre and N240 per litre from the private depots. The price becomes higher when we add our transportation cost. So, there is currently no way we can sell at the government regulated price.”

He pointed out that his members had been unable to purchase their goods at the government-approved pricing, which led to automatic price increases at other pumps.

He said that, excluding transportation, independent traders are paying N240 per litre for petrol at depots.

“We are getting the product between N230 per litre and N240 per litre, without transportation. If I get the product at N260 per litre, how much should I sell?

“It is a terrible situation and that is where we are. This is the status update from yesterday night. There is rent and arbitrage and they are not giving us the product at the official price even though they (government) promised to do so.

“It is when the Federal Government removes subsidy on petrol that all these (petrol scarcity) will be over.”

On things returning to normalcy, he said: “There is hope in sight by the middle of the month but not immediately.”

Further, he said: “The solution is to deregulate and all the contestants for the presidency have said they will deregulate and Buhari said they will deregulate by June too.”

According to information gathered by ValidView Network, there were lengthy queues at gas stations yesterday around the Federal Capital Territory, prompting concerns about the possibility of yet another round of fuel shortages in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

In particular, inspections of the city center revealed that most of the main and independent retailers’ stores were closed, and queues could be seen at the Conoil and Total gas stations next to the NNPC Towers. Additionally, there were queues at the NNPC Mega station and two other stations in the city’s Wuse district.

Similar huge queues were spotted yesterday in Lagos and the surrounding areas, where independent marketers were selling the product for over N250 per litre while large marketers like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company were selling it for N170 and N200, respectively.

As a result of the price discrepancy, black markets began to appear in Abuja, Lagos, and other regions of the country, selling the product for anywhere between N400 and N500 per litre, depending on the area.

Meanwhile, drivers in various regions of the nation keep raising transportation costs.

The majority of states in the South, South East, South West, and the North, as well as most areas of Abuja, have seen an increase in transportation costs.

While the transporters attributed the increase in gasoline prices on the gas stations, the majority of commuters believe that the Federal Government’s reluctance to enforce the official price was to blame for the gas stations’ willingness to sell at whatever price they pleased before shifting the burden to the depot pricing.