By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Limited has said the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol from the Dangote Refinery may become accessible at the pump from September 15, 2024.
This was revealed in a statement signed by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr Olufemi Soneye, which said the prices of products would be determined by market forces after it was earlier speculated that the refinery would set the price of the commodity.
The statement quoted the NNPC’s Executive Vice President of Downstream, NNPC Limited, Mr Adedapo Segun, saying the downstream sector had been fully deregulated and the state oil company would no longer fix prices.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has stated that foreign exchange (forex) illiquidity has been a significant factor influencing the fluctuation in prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which are governed by unrestricted free market forces, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA),” the statement said in part.
While quoting Segun, NNPCL explained that the current fuel scarcity was expected to “subside in a few days as more stations recalibrate and begin selling PMS.”
He said Section 205 of the PIA, which established NNPC Ltd, stipulated that petroleum prices were determined by unrestricted free market forces.
According to him, “The market has been deregulated, meaning that petrol prices are now determined by market forces rather than by the government or NNPC Ltd. Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices.”
On the commencement of lifting PMS from the Dangote Refinery, Segun said that NNPC Ltd was awaiting the September 15th timeline provided by the refinery.
Mr Segun said no right-thinking individual would be comfortable with the current fuel scarcity, adding that the NNPC Ltd had nearly a thousand filling stations nationwide and was collaborating with marketers to “ensure that stations open early, close late, to maintain adequate fuel supply to meet the needs of Nigerians.”
“We are also engaging relevant authorities to ensure product diversions are prevented and timely deliveries to all stations are ensured. The scarcity should ease in the next few days as more stations recalibrate and begin operations,” he said.
The clarification comes after the federal government declared that there was going to be a massive supply of petrol at the weekend as vessels had started offloading, but ruled out PMS price fixing.