Fuel Stations Continue Petrol Rationing As NNPCL Supply Falters  

Motorists in Lagos and neighbouring Ogun States are having difficult times getting normal supply of petrol as major depots in Lagos State remain dry, LEADERSHIP reveals.

In some parts of Lagos, black market is beginning to spring up as most petroleum products dispensing outlets continue to ration the little they have.

Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Lagos branch,  Mr. Akin Akinrinade,  said loading had not taken place at Mosimi depot, a major outlet serving the SouthWest in the last eight weeks.

Akinrinade, who spoke to our correspondent on phone said, his members with existing tickets, before the shutdown of major products conveying arteries at Atlas Cove, have been advised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), to take products from MRS in Apapa.

Though he refused to confirm if there is enough to go round, a major marketer who confided in our Correspondent said, the NNPCL does not have enough supply to go round.

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“Let me tell you the truth, the NNPCL was disappointed with the marketers refusal to continue importation. On the side of marketers, those who for instance were getting about 20,000 metric tons in quick supply now receive similar volume once in several weeks and this is why we are having shortages” he said.

He said the government is meddling with the deregulation policy where it announced opening up the market but at the same time insisting on a regulated price for marketers.

This, he said, will not guarantee return on investment because, as the price of crude continues to rise and exchange rate and forex scarcity persists, then, what is playing out will continue.

Meanwhile, reports show that Nigeria’s petrol imports declined in the second quarter of the year since the removal of subsidy, even as a further rise in global oil prices is expected to push up the cost of bringing the product into the country.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS), petrol importation dropped by 17.5 per cent to N1.23 trillion from N1.49 trillion in Q1.

Also, petrol consumption has dropped following the surge in pump prices, with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, saying it fell to 52 million litres daily in July from 64.96 million litres in the previous months.

Scarcity of dollars has made it difficult for importers of petroleum products to continue further importation and for about two weeks now, the petroleum distribution chain has experienced turbulence, said the national president of IPMAN, Chinedu Okoronkwo.

Okoronkwo also called on the federal government to ensure rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries as planned.

When our correspondent contacted the spokesman of NNPCL, Garba Deen Mohammad on whether NNPCL has a time frame to fix the breached portion of the Atlas Cove, he promised to get back. However, as at 5:55 pm yesterday when filling this report, the spokesperson is yet to get back despite a reminder message sent to him earlier.