TheNewsGuru

Tag: adulterated fuel

  • Oando denies owning refinery in Malta

    Oando denies owning refinery in Malta

    Oando Plc has denied allegations linking the company and its executives to Raz Hansir Oil Terminal Ltd., a Maltese company purportedly involved in importing adulterated petroleum products into Nigeria.

    Oando Plc was alleged to operate an oil storage and blending facility, and purportedly responsible for importing adulterated petroleum products into Nigeria.

    Ms Ayotola Jagun, Company Secretary, Oando Plc, said this in a statement to the floor of Nigerian Exchange Ltd.(NGX) in Lagos.

    Jagun asserted that neither Oando nor its executives had ever held shares, investments or interests in the fictitious Maltese company.

    She said: “As part of a comprehensive investigation into the basis of the false claims, we conducted a search of the Malta Business Registry, the official repository for all registered entities, past and current, within the country.

    “Our search yielded no results for a company bearing that name. Subsequent due diligence efforts similarly failed to uncover any record of the company’s existence.

    “We, therefore, believe that the false claims are of malicious intent, aimed at misleading the public and our stakeholders.”

    The company secretary reiterated that as a publicly listed company, any corporate actions, such as acquisitions, were declared publicly in accordance with applicable corporate governance laws and rules.

    Jagun noted that information released about a publicly quoted company such as Oando was thoroughly researched and deemed accurate before been published in the public domain.

    She added that the company’s securities were traded daily across two exchanges: the NGX and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

    “To prevent misinformation and confusion among investors, as well as our other stakeholders, we implore all members of the press to take adequate steps to ensure the veracity of reports by fielding all enquiries with Oando Plc’s Corporate Communications department,” Jagun said.

  • Imported Substandard Petrol: A Call for Synergy – By Umegboro and Odeh

    Imported Substandard Petrol: A Call for Synergy – By Umegboro and Odeh

    By Carl Umegboro and Onche Odeh

    WHAT began as the usual queues for fuel that often disappear after a few days lingered for a longer period this time around, leaving Nigerians with many thoughts of what could have been the cause. When the queues approached the third week in January, many Nigerians thought the marketers were up to their usual trick of trying to make a brisk business from their old stock of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) commonly known as petrol as rumours were rife then that the government was to effectively stop paying subsidy for petrol at the end of the month.

    While Nigerians were trying to get their heads around a fresh reason for the scarcity after the government announced the suspension of subsidy removal, news of the real reason emerged. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the petroleum sector regulator, disclosed that they had to order the shutting down of some filling stations because they had taken delivery of PMS laced with methanol at quantities above Nigerian recommended standard. The move as explained was to purge the affected chain of the bad fuel from the market.

    Upon investigation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited disclosed that the adulterated petrol was imported into Nigeria undetected by four importers from Antwerp in Belgium, going ahead to also reveal the oil companies that brought it in. However, the four oil companies accused by the NNPC denied the allegation, thereby creating confusion on the crisis. This catastrophe has therefore reinforced earlier appeal by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) for inter-agency collaboration for effective sectoral standards regulation.

    During a late-night briefing held on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, in Abuja, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, Mele Kyari, maintained the position. An interesting twist to the disaster was the failure of quality inspectors to detect the high level of Methanol in the petrol, first at the point of export from Belgium and the point of arrival in Nigeria. Meanwhile, NNPC’s quality inspectors including GMO, SGS, GeoChem, G&G and other inspection agents appointed by the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority had certified that the cargoes met Nigerian specifications.

    Explaining why the adulterated petrol missed the eagle eyes of the inspectors, the NNPC GMD said the quality checks do not include checks for Methanol percentage adding that cargoes quality certificates issued at load port in Antwerp-Belgium by AmSpec Belgium indicated that the gasoline complied with Nigerian Specification.

    Whatever the reason might be, it has indeed created a very difficult period for Nigerians, as the situation has left many people with damaged vehicles and machines whose operations require the use of petrol as fuel. Conceding to this, the NNPC GMD said, “It is a very difficult period for us, and it is very important to update our customers and members of the general public on the ongoing efforts by NNPC and other stakeholders including you, to resolve the issues generated by the unfortunate supply and discharge of methanol blended gasoline (PMS) in some Nigerian depots.”

    From observation, some remedial actions like quarantine of all un-evacuated volumes and the holding back of all the affected products in transit (both truck and marine) put in place by NNPC since it received the report of the adulterated petrol on 20th January are on course. Earlier in the year, SON announced plans to standardize the nation’s oil and gas sector in its bid to enhance products and services quality attainment in the sector beginning from 2022. To this effect, the Director-General of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim inaugurated a Steering Committee to coordinate modalities for implementing the provisions of SON Act No 14 of 2015 as it relates to the nation’s oil and gas sector.

    Other areas SON would resourcefully offer support towards standardization of the industry include quality management system requirements for the petrochemical, oil and natural gas industry, basic offshore safety induction and emergency training amongst others. From reports, SON DG has tasked the in-house committee to enhance SON’s activities and strategic repositioning in the oil and gas industry to effectively regulate quality and promote international best practices, assuring that the organisation is prepared to overcome challenges that may arise in the course of striving to improve standardisation and quality assurance in the Oil and Gas Sector.

    The imported petrol adulteration incident may have heightened the call for SON to be returned to the ports to complement what other agencies there are doing. Although, a record shows that SON is already collaborating with other regulatory agencies as confirmed by the organisation’s Director, Public Relations, Bola Fashina, the time to step this up is now.

    “SON has been working closely with agencies to ensure compliance to standards. On issues surrounding food and other regulated products, we are working closely with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), on the environment, we are working with the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), we have a good collaborative relationship with the Nigeria Customs Service and other regulatory agencies in the country. But with the recent event, we are going to speed up our collaboration with other agencies,” Fashina said.

    The hard struggle by NNPC and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to mop up the adulterated petrol from circulation is a sad reminder of the point that has been repeatedly made by the previous and current leadership of SON, the National Assembly and other stakeholders, that ‘it is easier to fight the influx of substandard products at the points of entry than chasing them around all over the country in markets and warehouses, among others.’

    According to statistics, over 75 per cent of the products imported into the country come through the seaports and waterways. Immediate past Chairman of Nigeria’s Senate Committee on Industry, Sam Egwu, emphasized this point with a call for the return of SON to the nation’s ports during one of the committee’s oversight functions to SON’s offices and laboratories in Lagos.

    “Nigeria is import-dependent, with porous borders and for them not to be at the port to inspect these goods first-hand is not good enough. They should be allowed to be at the ports to see these products before they enter the market,” Egwu said.

    This was also echoed by the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Industry, Enitan Dolapo-Badru, at an oversight visit to SON’s laboratory in Lagos. However, SON has appealed to the National Assembly to support its quest to establish more laboratories in the country, stressing that the agency is inundated with so many goods to certify, monitor and test especially at this time when the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has taken full flight. Thus, all hands must be on deck.

     

    Umegboro is a public affairs analyst while Odeh is an environmental analyst.

  • Adulterated petrol: We are almost through blending imported off-spec PMS – MOMAN

    Adulterated petrol: We are almost through blending imported off-spec PMS – MOMAN

    The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) says its members have almost completed the blending of the off-spec Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly called petrol imported into the country.

    MOMAN’s Executive Secretary, Mr Clement Isong, confirmed the development on Thursday in Lagos State.

    The withdrawal of the imported adulterated PMS from the market created a supply gap which triggered scarcity of the product across the country The product was said to have contained methanol above the specified volume.

    The government had set up a technical committee of stakeholders in the downstream petroleum sector, to carry out the blending of the off-spec petrol, to comply with the acceptable standard.

    “We are almost done with the blending of the off-spec petrol. For majority of MOMAN members, we have almost finished the blending. We have successfully blended out the methanol and it is now on-spec,” Isong said.

    He noted that the lingering scarcity of PMS was triggered by the withdrawal of the off-spec petrol from the market, but had been compounded by other factors.

    According to him, these include; the availability of PMS in the international market and the high cost of diesel, which have made transportation of petroleum products expensive for marketers.

    He said: “There are other factors that came into play. So, to solve the problem, you need to supply about 150 per cent of your usual supply to the country for the queues to disappear.

    “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has ramped-up supply, and that is why the queues are disappearing.”

    On the escalating prices of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) and Jet A1 (Aviation fuel) in the country, Isong noted that the ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine and access to forex by marketers were responsible.

    He said that the attack on Ukraine by Russia had led to an increase in the prices of crude oil and all its derivatives, including diesel and aviation fuel.

    “That war that is ongoing has caused crude oil prices to go up worldwide. It has got as high as $130 per barrel. The problem simply is, even if you have the money, it is not so easy to find.

    “Marketers are finding it difficult to source for products and import them to the country. Then, there is the issue of accessing forex, which has been a bit challenging for marketers.

    “So, when you add these two things together, you will understand why we are having this problem,” Isong said.

    Nigerians have been facing scarcity of petrol for weeks, with some filling stations hiking their pump price to N200 per litre.

    Also, the price of diesel used by manufacturers to power their generators and the aviation fuel used by aircraft, have gone above N600 per litre in the last few days, due to the scarcity of the products.

  • Adulterated fuel: Our imported product meet specifications- Duke Oil, Oando Plc

    Adulterated fuel: Our imported product meet specifications- Duke Oil, Oando Plc

    Two oil companies, Duke Oil and Oando Plc have stated that their imported fuel met Nigerian specifications, repudiating responsibility in the importation of the adulterated fuel that hit the country.
    This was stated when the companies appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) investigating circumstances surrounding the importation of toxic fuel into the country on Wednesday.
    The Managing Director of Duke Oil, Mr Lawal Sade, stated that the product imported by his company was certified okay both at the Port of loading and the Port of discharge by relevant authorities.
    He, however, said they were notified by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), a few hours after the discharge that the product had some particles which made it discontinue the process.
    He noted that the product has since been quarantined.
    He said that there was a confirmation by the regulator which is the new Nigerian midstream, downstream authority to discharge that cargo within the stipulated date.
    ” The cargo discharged and the vessel sailed. It was just after 24 hours of operation then, Duke Oil was notified by the NNPC that there was a complaint from some of their customers that the cargo has some particles
    According to him, the cargo has been certified by the midstream and there is a joint inspection before the discharge and the specification provided in the contract with NNPC meet up the Nigerian specification.
    Earlier, the representative of Oando Plc, Afanga Afanga said that the firm’s product met the Nigerian specification.
    “In line with our Direct Sale Direct Purchase contract with NNPC, on the 16th of January 2022, we delivered 90MT worth of PMS onboard the Vessel MT Elka Apollon.
    “It is important to note that this PMS cargo that was supplied met and was in line with all the Nigerian contractual specifications.
    He said that it was confirmed by the mandatory tests that were conducted at the loading port in Europe and before discharge in Nigeria by independent NNPC quality inspectors.
    He added that the agents of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority also confirmed it.
    He said that It was on this basis that the cargo was certified and accepted for discharge by NNPC.
    In his ruling, the Chairman of the committee, Rep. Abdullahi Gaya, asked the companies to submit all relevant documents regarding their presentation, saying they may be reinvited if necessary
  • Bad petrol: Won’t Buhari, Sylva, NNPC MD resign? – By Mideno Bayagbon

    Bad petrol: Won’t Buhari, Sylva, NNPC MD resign? – By Mideno Bayagbon

    By Mideno Bayagbon

    I understand if your first reaction after reading the above headline is to wonder: President Buhari should resign? But Why? Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State, Petroleum, should too? And the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari? Wetin dem do? Why should they resign? You may further ask. And if you are a member of the Buhari Hailing Party, what we have come to know as the Hailers; or a beneficiary of the unearned largesse at the disposal of the junior minister for the Petroleum Ministry, or the emperor at the NNPC, it is understandable for you to call for my head to be placed on the guillotine.

    The shock would be if the headline resonates immediately with the Nigerian on the streets or in the boardrooms. That would be the biggest surprise of the year. We have never been known as such a people to massively call for the sack of our public officers. No matter how bad the lived situation of Nigeria is, we look for a short cut, for a way, no matter how undignified, out. When those who pose as government and their officials, through compounded incompetence, poorly thought out policies, greed and corruption, slam us repeatedly on the iron wall, we don’t fight back. We look for a way to dig a bunker to hide. We will rather be cowards than face our fears; than confront our oppressors.

    If any one is in doubt about why Nigeria, as a country and as a people, is where it is today, you need not look farther than the ongoing episode of adulterated fuel import. The audacious impunity with which the government has carried on, is a sorry commentary on our nation. The attitude is akin to “Damn the Public.” They don’t matter. We can carry on as we like. Everything, despite the monumental damage done, must go on as usual.

    Neither remorse, nor sanctions, just blame gaming and blame shifting. It does not matter to them that their perfidious incompetence is wracking the economy and sending expense accounts of Nigerians into a tailspin. We are a nation that doesn’t punish impunity, but rewards bad, evil, and corrupt leadership.

    And it is not just about the ruling party, the APC, government alone. Even the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is silent. Not concerned with the agony of those whose cars have been wrecked, whose businesses have been badly impacted, whose increased cost of transportation and cost of living have suddenly skyrocketed due to no fault of theirs. Not one meaningful statement from the PDP calling for sanctions on the officers involved or on the leadership on whose table the bulk of this disastrous issue rests. Just one lame excuse of a statement. There is an obvious connivance going on. Being birds of the same corrupt plumage.

    Moreover, the indolence and conspiratorial inertness of the average Nigerian is mind boggling. Our ability to coil up, to be kicked in the groin, time and over again, without a whimper, is truly exasperating. Government treats Nigerians a little less than slaves, and it is life as usual. Nigerians expect nothing good from the so-called leaders. They get nothing but bad, incompetent leaders. The average Nigerian doesn’t care. They carry on only to mumble in the dark crevices of their bedrooms. Afraid lest the wind betrays their anguish and whisper their stultifying agony near the opulent, nonchalant ears of their oppressors, the government.

    Our docility is the reason it is said of Nigerians that they are the easiest people on earth to be ruled. This is not a new phenomenon. It didn’t start with President Buhari. For anyone old enough to remember, the Abami Eda, the one who thought he had death in his pouch, Fela Anikulapo, lamented about it almost forty years ago. In one of his songs, Sorrow, Tears and Blood, with lyrics reproduced.

    • My people self dey fear too much
    • We fear for the thing we no see
    • We fear for the air around us
    • We fear to fight for freedom
    • We fear to fight for liberty
    • We fear to fight for justice
    • We fear to fight for happiness
    • We always get reason to fear

     

    • We no want die
    • We no won’t wound
    • We no want quench
    • We no want go
    • I get one child
    • Mama dey for house
    • Papa dey for house

     

    • Them leave sorrow, tears, and blood
    • Them regular trademark (them regular trademarks)
    • Them leave sorrow, tears, and blood
    • Them regular trademark
    • This is why

     

    • Everybody run, run, run
    • Everybody scatter, scatter
    • Some people lost some bread
    • Someone nearly die….

    While Nigerians and the economy groan, President Muhammadu Buhari, typically is keeping an aloof silence. Chief Timipre Sylva is incommunicado, while the NNPC GMD, Mele Kyari, thinks so little of the sufferings engendered by the adulterated fuel, that he chose to go and collect an honorary degree from one of the local universities. Thereafter, he comes public to insult the intelligence of Nigerians by trying to abdicate responsibility for the fiasco. He blames four sub contractor companies which the NNPC, the sole importer of fuel into the country, sublets part of its responsibilities.

    When this became untenable, he shifts the goalpost and goes on other blame game gimmicks. He never for once accepted blame for the damage to the economy and the people which the incompetence of the agency that he heads has visited on the country. For him, all is well, as long as he is able to paper over his complicity, incompetence, and guilt.

    He does this knowing full well no one will call him to accountability. He knows that he faces no risk of a sack or even a reprimand. His bosses, the minister for petroleum, the president of Nigeria, and his minister of state, who should be under heavy fire, their jobs hanging on the balance of public anger, are mute. They know the powerless, cowardly Nigerians all too well.

    The GMD, Mele Kyari, and the NNPC, in other climes, would be facing huge financially damaging suits by now. The huge payout they would have been forced to pay would have induced humility. The impacted citizens would have organised themselves into a joint force to sue NNPC and Kyari in his official and personal capacity. The insurance companies too, who would have had legions of payments to make on insured cars, would have been up in arms. There is no way, the careless conspiracy going on would have been tolerated without humongous consequences to the NNPC and the government.

    Yet, were Nigeria one of the decent democracies and economies of the world, President Buhari, Sylva and Mele Kyari would have been too afraid of kissing their jobs good bye, to behave the way they have done to Nigerians so far.

    As for me, the three of them should be held accountable. They should not hold their positions one minute longer. They should be made to resign or pay dearly. Especially the NNPC GMD! Even if Nigerians are afraid to talk to them, should their consciences also be afraid of them?

  • Adulterated fuel: How NNPC concealed vital report to throw Nigerians into suffering

    Adulterated fuel: How NNPC concealed vital report to throw Nigerians into suffering

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited charged with the responsibility of regulating and supervising the oil industry on behalf of the Nigerian government has Integrity, Transparency and Accountability at the centre of its core values, yet failed to immediately take responsibility for the importation of the adulterated fuel that has caused Nigerians unquantified economic and social hardship.

    The NNPC admitted on 20th January 2022 that it received a report from its quality inspectors on the presence of emulsion particles in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) cargoes shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium. The report NNPC received from its quality inspectors goes contrary to the quality certificates issued at load port (Antwerp-Belgium) by AmSpec Belgium, which indicated that the gasoline supplied, complied with Nigerian specifications.

    “As a standard practice for all PMS imports to Nigeria, the said cargoes were equally certified by inspection agents appointed by the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA),” said the Chief Executive Officer/ Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari.

    It is important to note that all imported petroleum products must meet the National Quality Standard specifications approved by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). To ensure compliance, relevant tests are carried out.

    Kyari also said that the NNPC quality inspectors including GMO, SGS, GeoChem and G&G conducted tests before discharge and the results showed that the gasoline met Nigerian specifications.

    In spite of the contrary report the NNPC claimed it received on 20th January, the corporation rather than isolate the vessel and take urgent steps to reconcile its findings with AmSpec Belgium which issued quality certificates for the product, concealed this information and allegedly went ahead to discharge same to five major oil marketers – OVH, MRS NIPCO, ARDOVA and TOTAL – between 24th and 30th January 2022.

    As the adulterated fuel travelled from Lagos to other parts of the country, an unperturbed Kyari visited the Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger State where he delivered the 30th convocation lecture of the university titled: “Energy Transition and Energy Accessibility: The New Paradigm” and was conferred its Honorary Doctorate Degree of Engineering (Honoris Causa) in recognition of his contributions to national development.

    “Just received an honourary Doctor of Engineering from the Federal University of Tech Minna. A humbling call to duty and for delivery of value to the shareholders of NNPC ltd.,” the NNPC GMD tweeted on 2nd February.

    The damaging effect of the bad fuel was soon noticed by the consuming public and Nigerians took to social media to complain about their vehicle engines developing faults after purchasing fuel from some filling stations. In one of the videos, a man holding a darkish liquid in a transparent container lamented how the fuel he bought from a refill station in Abuja had damaged his car.

    As a result of persistent complaints, the NNPC on 10th February, more than three weeks after it had been intimated of the bad purchase, issued a statement “that limited quantity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification, was discovered in the supply chain.

    “To ensure vehicular and equipment safety, the limited quantity of the impacted product has been isolated and withdrawn from the market, including the loaded trucks in transit. The source supplier has been identified and further commercial and appropriate actions shall be taken by the authority and NNPC Ltd.”.

    The blame game

    Not willing to take responsibility for the negative economic and social impact of the bad fuel, Kyari accused four oil marketers – MRS, Oando, Duke Oil and a consortium of consisting Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U – of importing the products through a Direct-Sale-Direct-Purchase (DSDP) arrangement.

    Three of the four named companies denied importing the bad fuel. One of them, MRS said in a statement that due to the current subsidy regime, NNPC is the sole supplier of all PMS in Nigeria.

    “Consequently, the NNPC through their trading arm, Duke Oil, supplied a cargo of PMS purchased from international trader Litasco and delivered it with Motor Tanker (MT) Nord Gainer. This vessel was discharged in Apapa between the 24th and 30th of January, 2022.

    “Following delivery into tank, it was observed that the product appeared hazy and dark; management immediately directed that further sales should be stopped and the products isolated. Urgent steps were taken to analyse the product to determine the basis for its contamination.

    MRS noted that product analysis revealed that the PMS discharged by Nord Gainer had 20 per cent methanol, an illegal substance in Nigeria, and immediately notified the NNPC, NMDPRA and MOMAN (Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria) and it was confirmed that other marketers had similar experiences; adding that the allegation that it imported contaminated products is “mischievous, false and untrue”

    Similarly, the management of Brittania-U maintained that all its imported products which cover the entire spectrum of upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, met NNPC’s product quality requirements.

    “All the PMS from our mother vessel, MT Torm Hilde were discharged with all relevant certificates of quality after laboratory analysis as it was adjudged lead-free, ethanol-free, water-free, suspended matter-free and had a sulphur content of 0.0174 as against 0.05, which is within the acceptable content allowable by Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Authority,” the company stated.

    Investigations by TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) revealed that following the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry and the inability of oil marketers to access foreign exchange at a competitive price, the NNPC has remained the sole importer of gasoline.

    Also, while the Corporation has not denied that it is responsible for supervising the industry, it punched a hole in the integrity of its processes when the GMD said that the NNPC’s assessment does not include tests for methanol.

    “It is important to note that the usual quality inspection protocol employed in both the load port in Belgium & our discharge ports in Nigeria do not include the test for Percent methanol content & therefore the additive was not detected by our quality inspectors,” Kyari said.

    A break in supply chain and resulting scarcity, damages

    Acute shortage of PMS was experienced across major cities evidenced by long queues and the presence of jerry can carrying youths along the streets, who jostled to sell the scarce product to motorists for between N300- N700 per litre against the official price of N165.

    In spite of the inconvenience of paying outrageously high amounts for the commodity and the loss of productive hours spent waiting under the scorching sun to buy PMS at the official price, many motorists reported various degrees of damage to their vehicles caused by the bad product.

    Chairman of MOMAN, Olumide Adeosun, said it had recorded at least 136 reported cases of damage to vehicle engines and working to ensure that the clean PMS product received are promptly distributed for the restoration of normal operations.

    “Some bad cases were recorded, including the Ardova PLC case, which led to 136 reported cases of vehicle engines damaged. We have identified the quantum of the problems, traced the sources and know the vessels that discharged the products as well as the depots and filling stations involved.

    Similarly, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission also confirmed that Nigerians who purchased contaminated fuel had experienced technical difficulties and damage to their vehicles, adding that it was engaging regulators and bodies involved in Nigeria’s downstream fuel distribution value chain to mitigate the losses experienced.

    “The commission in the process of its initial investigative assessment understand that consumers who purchased fuel that constitutes part of this consignment have experienced technical difficulties and damage to their vehicles or other relevant equipment/machinery,” it said.

    It said that in furtherance of its investigation, and pursuant to relevant laws, the Commission is currently engaging multiple regulators and relevant entities, particularly with respect to a reasonable and acceptable mechanism to mitigate demonstrated injury and or loss experienced by consumers.

    Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has called for a thorough investigation of the matter, stressing that consequences would be visited on all parties responsible for the great danger and inconvenience Nigerians have been subjected to through the supply of adulterated products.

    The NNPC has confirmed receipt of 2.1 billion litres of PMS which will be distributed to restore normalcy and predicted that the lingering fuel crisis would disappear this week and TNG can confirm that the situation has started to ease as shorter lines were observed at some filling stations on Sunday.

  • FUEL SCARCITY: Tonto Dikeh calls for gasoline attendant as boyfriend

    FUEL SCARCITY: Tonto Dikeh calls for gasoline attendant as boyfriend

    Nigerian actress, Tonto Dikeh, has praised gasoline attendants as the true MVPs during this period of fuel scarcity.

    According to her, the only remedy from lengthy queues at filling stations is for her to have a boyfriend that sells fuel.

    In an Instagram story, the single mother revealed her intention to date a petrol station owner because he would provide her with fuel in these trying times.

    Tontolet wrote:

    “All of you dating fuel attendants, my people una be the real MVP this period ooo. As I am like this is to go and get petrol station boyfriend”.

     

    It would be recalled that IPMAN Public Relations Officer, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, had said the Federal Government was yet to improve supply.

    While urging Nigerians to be patient, he observed that many motorists have engaged in racketeering where they “fill up their tanks, go to sell to black marketers and return to the queues.

    “I want to advise our people to stop patronizing black marketers, this will help also in solving the problem”, he added.

     

  • No adulterated fuel in Delta – NUPRC

    No adulterated fuel in Delta – NUPRC

    The Warri Zonal Office of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says it has yet to record any case of adulterated petroleum products in its various operations.

    Mr Ignatius Anyanwu, Operations Controller, NUPRC, Warri Zonal Office said this when he spoke with newsmen on Friday in Warri about the operations of the zone which comprised of Delta, Edo, Ondo and Ekiti.

    Anyanwu, who expressed surprise at the sudden queue that had resurfaced in most filling stations in Delta, said that there were enough petroleum products to serve the consumers.

    “The case of adulteration we are hearing, we did not record anyone in Warri zone. We have enough sufficiency in stock. I wonder why the sudden queue in filling stations across the state,” he said.

    Residents in Warri and environs woke up on Tuesday to see queues in most of the filling stations in the metropolis resulting in panic buying.

    Anyanwu advised motorists to stop panic buying, saying that the surveillance team of the commission was working assiduously to ensure there were no hoarding or diversion of products.

    “A total of 4.8 million litres of petrol were trucked out on Wednesday to the four catchment states under the Warri zone, which means that Delta now has 2.3 million litres,” he said.

    Anyanwu said that 116 trucks distributed the products across the four states, saying that 55 trucks out of the trucks supplied petrol to filling stations in Delta.

    “We had two vessels, one discharged on Wednesday, while the other discharged on Thursday.As of Thursday, we had over 62 million litres in stock and this is being distributed throughout the states. So, there should not be scarcity or panic buying.

    “We are surprised to see the queue at filling stations, there is no need for that because we have enough sufficiency in stock, of course, there was a case of adulteration in Lagos and others; the public does not need to panic.

    “Although, truly speaking, the queues are gradually disappearing unlike on Wednesday.When we saw the queue, we immediately dispatched our surveillance team.

    “They went to Asaba on Wednesday and on Thursday; they monitored Warri and environs to find out the cause of the queue,” he said.

    Anyanwu added:”The preliminary finding for that of Asaba is that most of the Independent Marketers do not really have the product, but the Major Marketers had and were selling at the pump price.

    “The few Independent Marketers that have fuel were selling above the pump price. So there is a tendency for people to go to where the price is normal. I believe that is what is building the queue.

    “The next thing we are going to find out now is why the discrepancies in their prices.”
    He said that the regulatory body would continue to intensify surveillance to ensure total compliance with the rules and regulations of the downstream operations.

    Anyanwu, however, warned petroleum marketers against sharp practices in the downstream sector, saying that violators would be sanctioned accordingly.

  • Queue to disappear at filling stations by next week – NNPC

    Queue to disappear at filling stations by next week – NNPC

    Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari said that the lingering fuel crisis and its attendant queues at the filling stations will ultimately disappear next week.

    Kyari said that there was already a receipt of 2.1 billion liters which would be distributed to normalize the situation.

    Kyari offered the hope at a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum investigating the circumstances surrounding the importation of adulterated fuel into the country.

    He said: “This National Assembly created the NNPC limited. By God’s grace, I am the CEO of that company. This company will serve the Nigerian people

    “By law, it is required to ensure energy security. Therefore, it is our responsibility to ensure that we provide energy security for this country. This company must operate within the laws of this country and this is what we have always done, and this is what we will continue to do.

    “For this current situation, I assure you that we have taken every necessary step to restore supply into this country. We have placed orders significant enough for us to cross into March, with at least 2.1 billion liters of PMS in our custody.

    “The situation you’re seeing today, I can assure you that by next week, it will vanish. All things being equal because of distribution issues that we may not have control over including the movement of trucks, otherwise we have robust supply arrangement to make sure that we exit this issue.”

    No single liter of PMS is processed locally

    Giving a background process of fuel importation in the country, Kyari regretted that all the fuel consumed in Nigeria was imported.

    He explained that the situation will persist for a long time to time unless the refineries were upgraded.

    “Why do we have this challenge? First of all, we import all the gasoline we use in this country. Every petroleum product we use in this country is not locally processed except a few quantities. Some of them, I can also share with you are coming from sources that may not be illegitimate. Not a single liter of PMS is generated in the country. That means 100 percent of PMS you see in this country is imported. Those imports are done on the basis of existing contractual arrangements that we have. It’s called the direct sale direct purchase process, which is simply with the best of practice to enable our suppliers supply products to us on agreed terms and conditions.

    We have been doing this since I came on board and it’s part of our supply mechanism.

    “Even if all our refineries come up today, except dangote refinery, we will still be in short supply of PMS, because all of our refineries can only make 18 million liters of gasoline. Consumption is certainly above 18 million liters”, he said.

    Evacuation of toxic fuel

    The CEO also explained to the Committee that the specification of the imported was established in consonance with the current regulatory mechanism.

    “Evacuation from depots, we know all the trucks that leave our depots, but we do not know where they end up. This is reality. There is no tracking mechanism to enable this. We also know that some of these products find their way in places that may not be in this country. I don’t have statistics to back this up, but I’m sure smuggling takes place.

    “On the basis of those contracts our suppliers bring products to us and reconcile with them regularly. Part of those supply arrangements, is to give specification to your suppliers. This specification are bound by regulation and the latest that we are using is the one that is in place since 2006. The current specification we have is what is the subject of all our import arrangement. So, all our partners were given those specification and on the basis of this, those imports were made.

    “Before a vessel leaves the load port, they have to declare that those vessel meet our specification. They will send it to COMD, the importer and confirm that this is the specification to do, this product that we are bringing to you meets this specification. On the basis of that, you allow the sail away of the vessel.

    “Now once it comes to the country, two things happen. We have NNPC surveyors who are now also required to validate that this product that have come meets the Nigerian specification. Also, we have the regulatory authority who has to conduct an independent assessment to confirm that this product meets the specification that is in consonance with the existing regulation in the country.

    Why we allowed cargeos to discharge product

    “In case of all the problems we have seen, four of the cargoes that are particularly in question today met all this criteria on arrival and that’s why they were allowed to discharge into terminals and conveyed into ship. There’s simply no way based on the current specification that you will know this PMS contains methanol. It is not part of their requirements at the load port. So we didn’t ask them to declare whether it contains methanol because it is not part of our specification.

    “Let me make it clear that methanol is not contamination. It is a regular addictive to PMS. In China, upto 15 percent PMS contains methanol. On its own, it is not a contamination. The key issue is handling methanol. If we, knew we will not accept this. Anytime methanol comes in contact with water, it emulsifies. It turns into a different chemical.”

    While highlighting a few challenges, Kyari said that NNPC limited rejected 5 vessels billed to come to Nigeria with the product from the same terminal abroad.

    “We have a number of challenges. On depots in the country today, once you evacuate products from the land, you pack it with water because of our peculiar environment. I need to disclose to you that people pack it with water because once you leave PMS in the land, some people will tamper with it. No one does that except NNPC. You can cross check this. Every depot has a way of managing this water that comes into the facility. Every filling station in this country have a challenge of managing water.

    “We didn’t know until our inspecting agents on 20th of January to be precise called our attention to the fact that it has seen emulsification in some of the depots and this maybe a cause of concern. That is how we went ahead to check all the deliveries in our hands from all the four vessels that came that have already discharged and to confirm that all of them contain methanol.

    “We quarantined all the volumes wherever they are in depots and transit. We were able to track them. We were able to trace all of them and quarantine them.

    “Not only that we are also expecting several other supplies to come from other sources, we checked their origin and confirmed that five other vessels are coming from the same shipping terminal that loaded this and we rejected all of them. They did not sail into our waters”, he said.

    Earlier in his welcome address, the chairman, Committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream, Hon. Abdullahi Mahmud Gaya said the investigative hearing was called by the House at plenary to identify the possible culprits, bring them to justice and forestall future occurrences.

    “The essence of today’s gathering is to elucidate the current fuel scarcity which has a negative impact on the people. As we are all aware, fuel queues has recently caused gridlock in most of our major cities affecting traffic movements. Some fuel stations are locked while the few that are open have long queues of motorist waiting to buy fuel.

    “This situation is not different in the capital city, Abuja, and our major cities where the majority of filling stations are shut and motorists spent hours in the sun struggling to buy from few that are open.

    “It is a fact that these problem is as a result of the importation of adulterated Premium motor spirit (PMS) which is confirmed to have high percentage of methanol.

    “Even though methanol is a regular additive in petrol but it is usually blended to acceptable quantity. The recent supply are in excess of this additive of which its resultant consequences is injurious to our fragile economy and the generality of our citizens.

    “The House of Representatives at plenary expressed much concern over the development and mandate the committee to conduct investigative hearing on the matter.

    “I therefore call on the Group Managing Director, NNPC Ltd to respond on the resolution of the House, viz investigate the release of adulterated Premium Motor Spirit across the country with a view to ensuring that culprits are brought to book as well as make recommendations towards curbing a reoccurrence of such incident.”

    The chairman added that the Committee will still interface with the four companies identified as the suppliers of the bad fuel in due course.

     

  • Adulterated PMS: Fuel scarcity bites hard in Abuja, Lagos

    Adulterated PMS: Fuel scarcity bites hard in Abuja, Lagos

    Some commuters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have decried increase in transportation fares due to fuel scarcity, making movement in the territory difficult.

    The commuters on Wednesday lamented that their greatest challenge was finding commercial vehicles to their destinations, especially to their places of business or work.

    They said this might be because most of the taxi drivers were either on the long queues in petrol stations or were off the road due to no petrol.

    They therefore called on the authorities concerned to speedily intervene to bring the situation back to normal as many Nigerians were suffering.

    Mr Calistus Emeka, who lives around Mararaba axis, said he had to pay N400 from his area to Wuse area, instead of N200.

    Emeka said as a cleaner, working at the Secretariat, his salary was meager and he could barely afford to continue to pay the increased fare.

    According to him, if nothing is done soon, he may not be able to go to work in the coming days.

    Mr Gabriel Oko, who also lives along the Mararaba axis, said he had to stand by the road side for hours to get a vehicle to work.

    Oko said: “Before getting to town from my area, I stood for hours waiting to get a taxi and could not find one, I had to take a bike to a certain point before getting a taxi.

    “This situation is very pathetic, even with your money, you cannot get a vehicle to convey you to your destination. I just pray this does not linger for a long time.”

    Ms Agatha Sule, who lives along the Gwagwalada axis, said she used to pay N400 to Area 1, but due to the lack of fuel situation, she paid N700 to town.

    “I know there is fuel scarcity in town but I was not prepared for the increased cost of transportation.

    “I work as a secretary in my office. If not for the fact that I have my office keys with me, I would not have gone to work today.

    “This increase is just too much. How do they expect very low income earners like us to survive?

    “The problem is that we are the ones even feeling this pain more.”

    Mrs Lucy James, another commuter, said she paid N350 from Apo axis to Wuse unlike the usual fare of N250.

    James prayed that relevant authorities would intervene, saying this was posing a great challenge for many Nigerians.

    Another passenger who lives in Kubwa/Dutse axis, Theophilus Ada, said the cost of transportation to town had also doubled within the past two days.

    In a similar vein, Mrs Joy Benjamin, a Civil Servant, said she was forced to buy 10 litres of fuel from black market at N5,000 to get to work.

    Benjamin said she had to do that because many fuel stations were not selling the product and the ones selling had very long queues and she did not have time to wait.

    Meanwhile, some motorists who spoke with NAN, revealed that some major fuel stations preferred to sell the product to black marketers who paid them extra money to get it.

    According to Mr Maurice Nze, the attendants have taken advantage of the situation to hide the fuel in the morning time, only to dispense it at night to black marketers.

    “A good number of filling stations are hoarding their products in the day time, but sell it at night to make more gains, this act has contributed to the suffering we are now witnessing.

    “I want to appeal to the government to set up a taskforce to check activities of some of these filling stations both during the day and at night,” Nze appealed.

    A taxi driver, Mr Rufus Nwafor said he spent close to three hours at the station to get fuel.

    According to Rufus, the scarcity is really affecting their business because even after spending so much time at the station to get fuel, passengers find it difficult to pay.

    “We have increased the fare, not because the price has changed at the station but because of the time we spend trying to get the fuel.

    “We are not happy increasing the fare but we have to find a way to make up for the time wasted trying to get fuel.”

    Another taxi driver, Mr Bolanle Segun said he had to buy black market this morning because he could not get fuel at the station.

    Segun said: “This day I do not force anybody to enter my vehicle, if I tell you the price and you are not ready to pay, I will not carry you.

    “This is because we spend hours trying to get fuel and today, just when it was close to my turn to buy, the attendant said the fuel has finished.

    “I had to go and buy from black market along the road side because my tank was empty.’’

    NAN reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (NNPC) on Tuesday said it distributed one billion litres of safe Premium Motor Spirit to various fuel stations nationwide.

    The NNPC also noted that 2.3 billion litres of PMS will arrive Nigeria before the end of February to address the current situation and restore sufficiency.

    Similarly, black marketers on Wednesday took advantage of the lingering scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to make brisk business from residents and motorists in Lagos State.

    The ongoing scarcity of PMS, also known as petrol, is due to the withdrawal of the off-spec products imported into the country from the market.

    A NAN correspondent who monitored the situation at Oshodi, Ojota, Ikeja, Mushin, Surulere, Iyana-Ipaja, Abule Egba and Lekki observed that many filling stations were still not selling petrol.

    Long queues were seen at the few stations selling, with both private and commercial motorists as well residents besieging them as early as 5a.m.

    The vehicular queues led to traffic gridlock on some major roads across the state, especially on the Lekki-Epe axis.

    Black marketers with various sizes of kegs were seen hawking petrol within a few meters of the filling stations.

    Their operations were noticeable in areas such as Ikorodu Road, Mushin, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way and Surulere.

    Some of the marketers were selling a litre of fuel for prices between N180 to N250 per litre depending on the location, demand and negotiating skills of the buyer.

    A commercial bus driver, Mr Wasiu Oyeleke, told NAN that he bought 10 litres of PMS for N2,000.

    “Yesterday, I could not get fuel after I closed for the day and none of the stations in my area is selling.

    “I managed to buy from these boys (black marketers) in Mushin which I am using now,” he said.

    Another commercial bus driver, Mr Emma Udoh, told NAN that he was offered 20 litres of fuel for N3,600 by one of the black marketers but he refused.

    He said: “I remember my last experience in their hands when I bought fuel from them and nearly destroyed my car.

    “I have been here for almost three hours and will wait until I am able to get fuel but it is very frustrating for all of us.

    A tailor, Mr Anu Ayorinde, said operators of small businesses were also suffering from the petrol scarcity due to epileptic power supply by the electricity Distribution Companies.

    Ayorinde said they had to get fuel from the black market for their generators, rather than wait on the queue for hours and be unable to deliver jobs on time for their customers.

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. had in a statement issued on Tuesday said it had put measures in place to accelerate nationwide distribution of PMS.

    The NNPC said the distribution was disrupted by the quarantine of methanol blended petrol.

    The company said it had began 24-hour operations at its depots and retail outlets, adding that it had over one billion litres of certified PMS stock that was safe for use in vehicles and machineries.