Petroleum marketers have started to import fuel on their own as the commodity has approached the N1,000 per litre barrier in the nation’s major cities due to increasing supply issues and rising
pump costs.
Marketers claimed that new pressure on the downstream oil market was brought on by production issues and supply limitations at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
In a phone interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday, Chinedu Ukadike, the National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, verified the incident.
In an attempt to stabilise retail prices, he said, members of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria are finalising plans to start importing petrol.
If more competition is introduced into the market, he said, petrol costs will soon decline as competition returns.
“Yes, the price of petrol will continue to drop since I am aware that some marketers, particularly DAPPMAN members, have applied and plan to import petrol goods.
In the unlikely event that their pricing are lower than Dangote’s, we would be forced to do business with them. The fundamental tenet of this market is that we will purchase where it is less expensive. However, once there is a competition for the market, prices would drop,” Ukadike stated.
According to the report, the price of gasoline increased on Monday from approximately N865 to N950 per litre.
According to checks on Tuesday, the price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, at the pump currently ranges between N920 to N955 per litre at many retail establishments, while depending on the brand and location, some stations in Abuja, Sokoto, and Lagos charge as much as N1,000 per litre.
Nigerians were anticipating that the price of fuel will fall to N841/litre, as suggested by the Dangote refinery, at this time.
The Dangote refinery announced on 15 September that its partners and participating filling stations would reduce the price of petrol to N841 in the South West and N851 in Abuja, Edo, Kwara, Rivers, and Delta when it launched its logistics-free fuel distribution scheme.
However, prices in Lagos, Ogun Abuja, and other places skyrocketed above N900 when this hadn’t yet been implemented in filling stations.
According to a market survey conducted by one of our correspondents in the Federal Capital Territory, petrol prices at NNPC stations in Lagos increased to N928 per litre, while at NNPC outlets in Gwarinpa and Lugbe, they were N955 per litre.
There were reports of huge lines and panic buying as drivers bought the commodity in portions of Edo, Rivers, Oyo, and Gombe states for between N900 and N1,000 per litre.
The most recent increase has alarmed drivers and shoppers who are already struggling with exorbitant transport and food expenses, as it could exacerbate inflationary pressures nationwide.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has responded by accusing depot owners of being responsible for the unexpected spike in petrol prices.
When depot owners learnt that the Dangote refinery had halted gasoline loading for a few days, they raised their pricing, IPMAN President Abubakar Shettima stated.
According to our correspondent, depot prices increased Monday from an average of N830 to almost N890.
Petroleumprice.com reports that as of Tuesday, petroleum was sold at N900 at depots such as Matrix, Fynefield, and Liquid Bulk; northwest offered N895; Pinnacle, N885; RainOil, N890;
NIPCO, N850; Aiteo, N878; and Sigmund, N890. Subsequently, filling stations modified their pump prices to reflect the new pricing structure, and premium motor spirit was sold at N928 in
Ogun and Lagos, an increase of roughly N50 from N870.
“The ex-depot prices have gone up. You know all the filling stations are retailers. So, when the price goes up ex-depot, there will be an adjustment by the retailers. That’s what has happened and
it’s across all the retailers,” NNPC spokesperson Andy Odeh told our correspondent, adding that the adjustment also represents a reversal of the price reduction that was implemented in August
when NNPC lowered petrol prices to N865 per litre in Lagos and N890 per litre in Abuja.
On Tuesday, petrol prices at filling stations in Ogun and Lagos ranged from N900 to N950. In Ogun, MRS, Dangote’s partner, also offered the product for N925.
It was learnt that there was a shortage of petrol since the Dangote refinery had just ceased providing it to merchants.
Questions requesting more information regarding the development have not yet received a response from the Dangote refinery.
But according to sources, this could be because of continuous maintenance or the difficulties brought on by the facility’s wholesale firing of engineers.
The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria members raised fuel prices after the 650,000-capacity refinery’s no-loading situation, according to IPMAN President
Shettima, who spoke to our correspondent. “These DAPPMAN people are the only ones who are selling the product now, but, probably, Dangote will start tomorrow (today). So, if Dangote starts
selling tomorrow, the price will come down.” Dangote hasn’t been selling to marketers for a long time.
“Even if you may see their trucks on the road, marketers must nevertheless get there to load in order to support them. These DAPPMAN individuals raised their ex-depot pricing as soon as they noticed that Dangote was not loading. That’s exactly what’s taking place. However, I am aware that these problems are transient and will soon be eliminated,” Shettima remarked.
In his remarks, IPMAN National Publicity Secretary Chinedu Ukadike blamed the price hike on some private depot owners’ shrewd tactics and brief supply issues at the Dangote Refinery.
According to Ukadike, internal reorganisation and labor-related issues caused the refinery to recently restrict loading operations, which resulted in limited distribution to private marketers.
According to Ukadike, internal reorganisation and labor-related issues caused the refinery to recently restrict loading operations, which resulted in limited distribution to private marketers.
“As a result of the workers’ strike, there was a little disruption in the supply and refinement of petroleum products during the ongoing reorganisation.
That is the current situation. “And what we are trying to do now is to manage the situation. Now that Dangote has also raised its pump price and NNPCL has done the same. This simply shows
that it is a reflective market where when the suppliers raise their prices, the retailers have no choice but to raise them, just to make a little profit. We can only have problems when we tie our
importation of crude or refined products to the price of the dollar, but that is no longer the case. The issue of ex
The Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria further confirmed in its daily bulletin, posted on its official X handle, that the refinery had suspended gantry loading for most private
marketers since last Thursday, restricting sales to its own and MRS trucks, causing a shortage at independent outlets. He added that depot owners were using the limited supply situation to raise
ex-depot prices, further exacerbating the pump price burden on consumers.
Jeremiah Olatide, the CEO of PetroleumPrice.ng, has attributed the recent surge in petrol shortages and price increases to operational issues at the Dangote Refinery, which he claims has halted
gantry sales to private depot owners since last week.
Olatide stated that while marketers who acquired Product Finance Instruments have been unable to lift fuel for a number of days, the refinery is currently giving loading for its own last-mile
delivery trucks and those of its subsidiary, MRS, priority.
“No, nothing has gotten better. As I talk to you, the refinery has stopped selling gantry trucks since last Thursday and is only loading its own trucks and final-mile delivery vehicles,” he stated. PFI
users have not yet loaded. I believe they are attempting to control their low stock.
He claims that the recent layoff of roughly 800 refinery employees and limitations of crude supplies have further taxed the facility’s operations, adding to the output glitch.
In essence, they are struggling with poverty, and they are also facing difficulties as a result of the 800 employees who were let go. According to Olatide, “all of these have contributed to the supply
glitch we’ve experienced in the last week.”
He warned that the downstream market was already being distorted by the refinery’s decreased output, drawing comparisons between the current situation and the previous gas supply crisis.
“Clearly, just like the gas problem began, there is a supply issue with PMS distribution,” he continued.
As traders compete for scarce supplies, Olatide disclosed that private depot petrol prices have skyrocketed in reaction to the shortage. “Today, depot marketers were prohibited from loading
goods at the refinery. Only MRS trucks and their private vehicles were allowed. Products will henceforth be sent to anyone applying through its trucks, but not to private marketers’ vehicles,” he
stated.
He also said that private depots, which had previously purchased from the refinery at a price of N820 per litre, have stopped selling and are thinking about raising prices again.
“There is undoubtedly a supply issue. “Private depot operators have halted sales and want to raise prices again, but it doesn’t affect MRS,” Olatide stated.
Residents of Sokoto State, meanwhile, have bemoaned the recent hike in pump prices by the state’s petroleum marketers, which has raised the price of fuel in the city to between 960 and 140 naira.
The price hike affected both individual and major marketers in the state, according to information acquired by our journalist who kept an eye on developments there.
According to information obtained by our state correspondent, for the past week, none of the NNPC filling stations in the state capital have been operating.
Tuesday’s visit to AA Rano revealed that the price of a litre of fuel had been changed from 930 to 960 naira.
Additionally, fuel that used to cost between 950 and 960 naira is now offered for between 1,000 and 1,050 naira at some independent retailers in the state.
According to a driver who spoke with our correspondent at AA Rano, the recent price hike and shortage are the reasons he chose to join the queue.
“I have to wait in line for the fuel. According to NNPC in Lagos, a litre now costs 992. It’s unclear how much NNPC will sell in Sokoto.”
“I have been here for about forty minutes trying to get this product, and even though I don’t have any money, I have to borrow money from my wife. In any case, it’s unfortunate.”
While Nigerians continue to look forward to the promise of a steady supply from the nation’s 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery, economists warn of another wave of price shocks
throughout the transportation, food and manufacturing sectors as the cost of fuel approaches N1,000 per litre.
