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Tag: NNPC

  • BREAKING: Fuel price jumps to N617 per litre

    BREAKING: Fuel price jumps to N617 per litre

    The price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, has jumped to N617 per litre overnight.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports a visit to a fuelling station owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited in Abuja reveals this development.

    Petrol, which used to sell for N539 per litre has now been adjusted to N617 per litre, a visit to the fuelling station located in the heart of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) reveals.

    Most fuelling stations in the FCT have followed suit and adjusted their pump prices to between N617 and N620, but AA Rano, Nipco in Jabi are still selling at the old price.

    In Maitama, Wuse, Gwarimpa, Jabi, Wuye and Kubwa areas of the FCT, long queues were observed at petrol stations still selling at the old price.

    A fuel attendant who refused to be named said that they would adjust their pump price before the end of the day.

    A customer who confirmed this development, Mr Emma Uzor, described the development as terrible.

    “We are still battling with the new price and within two months they increased it again. This is not fair to the masses.

    “No information or reasons for the increment, how do they want the poor masses to survive? The salaries have not been increased and food prices have risen.

    “The government should go back to their drawing board and come up with favourable conclusion for the citizens,” Uzor said.

    TNG reports no immediate reason has been given for this hike in fuel price by the authorities.

    However, it has been speculated that the price of petrol will now be dictated by market forces, following the removal of fuel subsidy payments.

    Recall that in May, a day after President Bola Tinubu was sworn into power, NNPC increased the price of fuel from N195 per litre to 537 per litre, nationwide.

    The development was occasioned by Tinubu’s inaugural speech, in which he said fuel subsidies would be removed.

  • NNPC Ltd to sell shares soon – Kyari reveals

    NNPC Ltd to sell shares soon – Kyari reveals

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has restated plans to issue its Initial Public Offer(IPO) to investors very soon.

    The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari said this at the 22nd edition of the 2023 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy conference and exhibition on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The theme of the conference is , “Powering Nigeria’s Sustainable Energy Future”
    Kyari while speaking on ”Redefining Nigeria’s Energy Landscape for a Sustainable Energy Future’’ said the decision was based on the law.

    ”As a Company that it is guided under the regulations of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the NNPC Ltd. will declare its shares to the public for acquisition very soon.

    “We will pay taxes; we will pay royalties like anyone; we will also pay dividends to our shareholders which many of you are.

    ”We are in business and business means competition. We are a private sector, forget about the fact that we are owned by the government 100 per cent.

    “ You are also aware, we are going Initial Public Offer very soon, we will sell a part of our equity.

    ” It is in the law, and once that happens, we will not be any different for any of you and it will be a very different business environment,” he said.

    On subsidy removal, Kyari said it had ensured positive change in the sector by freeing up capital for powering the sustainable supply of energy.

    “Are we positioned to facilitate business? Yes, but our partnership produced over 80 per cent of the oil and gas in the country either directly or through our off-stream company or through our partnership.

    “I am in a position to facilitate business. On the PSC today, we are just agents of the state, trying to make sure we deliver value to them and then they will pay.

    “I am sure you appreciate this new relationship. The PSCs are not on the balance sheet on the NNPCL.

    ”We make sure you do your work because when you do, we are compensated 40 per cent of your profit oil, so it is important for us as well as business for us,” he said.

    On energy poverty, the NNPCL boss said the focus was now to ensure that more people had access to energy.

    Kyari said, “Over 30 per cent do not have access to electricity. So, is energy available or is it the problem of affordability.

    ”Or it is that we have an unsustainable situation or is it combination of all of them? I think we are dealing with the combination of all.”

    According to him, energy is not available, it is not affordable in definite sense.

    He said this was due to many structures and issues that made affordability a matter of concern for everybody.

    “We supply gas, we do not get payment for it; We supply power and we do not get payment for it.

    ”So, you cannot run any business this way. You cannot be sustainable. You cannot create affordable energy and it will not be available.”

    According to him, affordability, accessibility and sustainability are the drivers of Nigeria’s energy future.

    He said that key initiatives on the horizon for NNPCL would include expanding gas infrastructure to deliver gas across West Africa and potentially, Europe.

    He further said expansion of liquefaction capacity of NLNG and enabling the availability of LPG as a cooking fuel and CNG as alternative fuel for automobiles were paramount.

    Kyari then reiterated the need to bridge the skilled manpower gap, ensure asset security, and invest in infrastructure to transform challenges into opportunities.

    The NOG Energy Week is Nigeria’s foremost international energy conference aimed at discussing policy implementation, vital energy agenda and investments, among others.

    The ongoing event was attended by policymakers, regulators, leaders, stakeholders and partners of the industry.

  • Police foil attempt to steal fuel from NNPC Pipeline in Lagos

    Police foil attempt to steal fuel from NNPC Pipeline in Lagos

    The police command in Lagos State says its operatives have foiled an attempt by hoodlums to steal oil at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Pipeline.

    The command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, made this known on his verified Twitter handle on Saturday.

    He said that the incident happened at 2:00 a.m. at the Idimu area of the state.

    Hundeyin said that the hoodlums unlawfully gained access into the site and were siphoning oil from the pipeline into their tanker.

    The image-maker said that the police, who got information about the theft, stormed the scene and the thieves abandoned their tools and fled.

    “The oil thieves absconded, abandoning their truck and tools, upon sighting police officers who responded swiftly when notified,” he said.

    Hundeyin said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Idowu Owohunwa had also visited the scene of theft.

  • Presidency sources speak on Mele Kyari’s suspension as NNPC GMD

    Presidency sources speak on Mele Kyari’s suspension as NNPC GMD

    Sources in the presidency have reacted to reports that President Bola Tinubu has suspended Mele Kyari as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

    Reports had been rife on the social media on Saturday afternoon that Kyari had been suspended over allegations of fraud and irregularities within the NNPC.

    But in a rebuttal made on Saturday evening to The Whistler, a presidency source informed that President Tinubu has not given any such directive.

    “We got to know about the purported suspension through social media posts. But I can confirm to you that there is no such directive coming from the President. Nigerians are known to play a lot with trends and someone may just have sat down somewhere to make such posts.

    “There is no iota of truth in that post claiming that the President has suspended the NNPC GCEO. There is nothing to be worried about because the Petroleum Industry Act is clear on how the NNPC GCEO or any member of the NNPC Board could be removed,” the source was quoted to have said.

    Also, an aide to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation affirmed that no such directive had been given by the President.

    He said: “Please disregard those reports because they are fake news. We don’t have such directive from the President to suspend Kyari.”

  • We won’t fix petrol prices again – NMDPRA

    We won’t fix petrol prices again – NMDPRA

    The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says it will no longer fix prices or release templates for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

    Authority Chief Executive (ACE), Mr Farouk Ahmed, who said this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday, said that market forces would henceforth dictate prices under the liberalised market.

    “As far as we are concerned in the NMDPRA, this is not like before when the PPPRA fixes the price; in a deregulated market, it is the market force that dictates the price,” he said.

    The development was sequel to the removal of subsidy on PMS known as petrol.

    President Bola Tinubu had in his inaugural speech on Monday said fuel subsidy regime had ended with the commencement of his administration.

    Ahmed, however, said the market was now open for everybody that would import as far as they met all the requirements.

    “So, it is not about the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) alone.

    “We put the regulation in place, we make sure quality control is complied with, we make sure the product is there and we give licence to prospective importer.

    “We make sure we guide the operations of everyone in the sector whether at the depot or wherever the product is but we will not put a cap to say this is what the price must be,” he said.

    According to Ahmed, the role of the NNPC is to fix prices of the petrol it imported and not take over the responsibilities of the Authority.

    “In the case of the NNPC, the organisation is the sole importer at this point. We told the NNPC to recover its costs because they know how much it cost them to import the product and sell it.

    “Of course, we also know how much shipping, offshore, ex-depot and ex-pump are. But we cannot tell them to sell at a price because the market is deregulated,” he added.

    The NMDPRA boss also disclosed that the Federal Government has officially scrapped petroleum equalisation as well as the national transport allowance.

    He said the NMDPRA, the federal government and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) would mount aggressive monitoring of activities in the downstream sector to prevent profiteering by petroleum marketers.

    Ahmed further disclosed that marketers are now free to source their foreign exchange anywhere around the world to import petroleum products and recover their costs without impediments.

    On where the importers will source their forex from, Ahmed said the CBN would not give dollar to anyone because of open market, adding that anyone willing to import should get the dollars from anywhere to import.

    According to him, anyone willing to open a letter of credit from any part of the world can do that to import.

    “That marketers can source their forex from anywhere is the beauty of the liberalised market that the NMDPRA has introduced based on the provision of the law”.

    Ahmed said that the market would henceforth be modulated to allow the fluidity of prices, adding that though no template spelt out the pricing components of petrol price.

    He said that, “based on this, the price would no longer be static rather depend on the international price of the gasoline market.

    “This did not imply that marketers could sell at any price”.

    According to him, the NMDPRA and FCCPC will collaborate to curb excesses if certain prices were way above the expected profit margin.

    “The market structure will dictate the price swings at every point in time,” he said.

    Ahmed cautioned against optimism for cheap petroleum products, saying products may not be cheaper because the company would be buying crude oil at the international price.

    “Dangote Refinery is a game changer in terms of accessibility. By the time the NNPC refineries and other modular refineries across the country come on stream, Nigeria will be a net exporter of petroleum products,” he said.

  • Fuel subsidy not budgeted for in 2023 budget – NNPC

    Fuel subsidy not budgeted for in 2023 budget – NNPC

    Alhaji Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), has said that contrary to speculations, the immediate past government did not make provisions for petroleum subsidy in 2023 budget.

    He said this on Thursday in Abuja when he met with the Sen. Abdullahi Adamu-led APC National Working Committee (NWC) at the party’s National Secretariat.

    “There was subsidy in 2022 but in 2023, not a single naira was provided for the purpose of financing the subsidy.

    “And ultimately while we held back our fiscal obligations, we still have a net balance of over N2.8 trillion that the federation should have given back to the NNPC.

    “For any company, when you have negative N2.8 trillion, there is no company in the whole of Africa that will lend to you, you cannot have receivables.

    “The provision of subsidy is there, but absolutely there is no funding for it,” Kyari said, adding that it was only on paper and does not exist.

    This, he said, was the true situation of things, adding the the Federal Government could no longer bear the burden of fuel subsidy.

    “If we continue, we will run into defaults and the defaults of NNPC is the default of Nigeria.

    “Once NNPC goes into defaults and liquidity, it affects every borrowing done by the country, even the sub-nationals. Your lenders will come back to you and say your country cannot longer pay,” he said.

    The NNPC group chief executive officer added that subsidy constituted a huge amount of money which the country might not be able to survive and pay its debts.

    Kyari, while admitting that Nigerians would have problems with the removal of fuel subsidy and that it would impact on inflation, assured that government was working on putting in place palliatives to cushion the effect.

    According to him, President Bola Tinubu has directed some engagements and some palliatives will be put in place soon.

    Kyari added that the market would stabilise with time following the removal of fuel subsidy and the current pump price when other players came in.

    “There is a transition going on now and NNPC cannot continue to be sole importer. So, we know that this is going to vanish, the market will stabalise,” he said.

    On when the country would have all its four refineries working, Kyari said there was an ongoing process of rehabilitation of the refineries.

    He added that one of the refineries would come on stream before the end of 2023 while the second one would come on stream in 2024 and the third one would follow there after.

    He maintained that the fuel subsidy regime was gone for good because government could no longer sustain it.

    “Of course it is very obvious that we can no longer afford it. Subsidy bills have piled up, the country is not able to settle NNPC for the money we are spending on subsidy.

    “And therefore, pricing petroleum at the market is the right thing to do at this point in time and I believe that this would benefit the country in the long time,” he said.

  • Fuel subsidy not budgeted for in 2023 budget – NNPC

    Fuel subsidy not budgeted for in 2023 budget – NNPC

    Alhaji Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), has said that contrary to speculations, the immediate past government did not make provisions for petroleum subsidy in 2023 budget.

    He said this on Thursday in Abuja when he met with the Sen. Abdullahi Adamu-led APC National Working Committee (NWC) at the party’s National Secretariat.

    “There was subsidy in 2022 but in 2023, not a single naira was provided for the purpose of financing the subsidy.

    “And ultimately while we held back our fiscal obligations, we still have a net balance of over N2.8 trillion that the federation should have given back to the NNPC.

    “For any company, when you have negative N2.8 trillion, there is no company in the whole of Africa that will lend to you, you cannot have receivables.

    “The provision of subsidy is there, but absolutely there is no funding for it,” Kyari said, adding that it was only on paper and does not exist.

    This, he said, was the true situation of things, adding the the Federal Government could no longer bear the burden of fuel subsidy.

    “If we continue, we will run into defaults and the defaults of NNPC is the default of Nigeria.

    “Once NNPC goes into defaults and liquidity, it affects every borrowing done by the country, even the sub-nationals. Your lenders will come back to you and say your country cannot longer pay,” he said.

    The NNPC group chief executive officer added that subsidy constituted a huge amount of money which the country might not be able to survive and pay its debts.

    Kyari, while admitting that Nigerians would have problems with the removal of fuel subsidy and that it would impact on inflation, assured that government was working on putting in place palliatives to cushion the effect.

    According to him, President Bola Tinubu has directed some engagements and some palliatives will be put in place soon.

    Kyari added that the market would stabilise with time following the removal of fuel subsidy and the current pump price when other players came in.

    “There is a transition going on now and NNPC cannot continue to be sole importer. So, we know that this is going to vanish, the market will stabalise,” he said.

    On when the country would have all its four refineries working, Kyari said there was an ongoing process of rehabilitation of the refineries.

    He added that one of the refineries would come on stream before the end of 2023 while the second one would come on stream in 2024 and the third one would follow there after.

    He maintained that the fuel subsidy regime was gone for good because government could no longer sustain it.

    “Of course it is very obvious that we can no longer afford it. Subsidy bills have piled up, the country is not able to settle NNPC for the money we are spending on subsidy.

    “And therefore, pricing petroleum at the market is the right thing to do at this point in time and I believe that this would benefit the country in the long time,” he said.

  • Fuel Palaver: NLC rejects new petrol pump price, says template is vexatious

    Fuel Palaver: NLC rejects new petrol pump price, says template is vexatious

    … insists dialogue is in danger

     

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the new pump price of petrol fixed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), describing as a vexatious template.

     

    Daily Trust reports that the oil firm has directed its outlets nationwide to sell fuel between N480 and N570 per litre.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) recalls the newly elected president, Bola Tinubu had announced an to fuel subsidy on Monday during his Inauguration as Nigeria’s 16th president on Monday.

    Subsequently, the apex oil company in Nigeria, NNPCL on Wednesday adjusted fuel pump prices with varying price template from state to state.

    NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, who briefed journalists at Labour House, Abuja, on Wednesday, described the development as an “ambush” insisting that any subsequent dialogue is in danger.

    He argued that the Congress would not accept that because government cannot be talking about deregulation and at the same time fixing the prices of Petroleum products, noting that removal of subsidy or fixing of price is not what government could do unilaterally.

    “We are worried that the government through the NNPC despite the ongoing meeting of stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to manage the unilateral but unfortunate announcement by the President to withdraw subsidy on petroleum products, went ahead this morning to announce a new regime of prices under a new pricing template.

    “This is an ambush and runs against the spirit and principles of social dialogue which remains the best platform available for the resolution of all the issues arising out of the petroleum Down-stream sector.

    “Government cannot in one breathe be talking about deregulation and at the same time fixing the prices of Petroleum products. This negates the spirit of allowing the operation of the free market unless the government has as usual usurped, captured or become Market forces,” the labour leader said.

    Comrade Ajaero, however, called on the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government to immediately instruct the NNPCL to withdraw what he described as its “vexatious pricing template” to allow free flow of discussions by the parties.

    He said the meeting scheduled to be held among stakeholders by 2pm today as announced in the morning, has been put on hold, accusing the government of trying to scuttle the dialogue.

    The labour leader added, “It is, therefore, unacceptable and we seriously condemn it. Good faith negotiation is key to reaching agreement. What the government has done is like holding a gun to the head of Nigerian people and bring undue pressure on the leaders thus undermine the dialogue.

    “We call on the federal government to immediately instruct the NNPC to withdraw this vexatious pricing template to allow free flow of discussions by the parties.

    “Nigerians would not accept any manipulations of any kind from any of the parties especially from the representatives of the Government.

    “Our commitment to this process is buoyed on the fact that all the parties would be committed to ensuring that it is carried out within the ambits of liberty without undue pressure.

    The release of that template may not allow us to continue if nothing is done to withdraw it so that the dialogue can continue unhindered. It is clear that Government is actually trying to scuttle the process.

    “As it stands, the federal government has become fixated on their chosen course of action. Would this help this dialogue? It clearly will not.

    “There must be flexibility to allow concessions and reasonable accommodation that will produce the best result for Nigerian people. This is what we all seek at this time.”

  • BREAKING! NNPC formally announces increase in fuel price

    BREAKING! NNPC formally announces increase in fuel price

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has set the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also referred to as fuel or Petrol , at between N488 and N555 per litre at its highest point.

    This is coming barely three days after President Bola Tinubu announced an end to removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria.

    On Wednesday morning, NNPC participants convened. According to a decision made by the management at the meeting, the NNPC PMS pump price table for Mega/Standard/Leased Stations will be revised upward. This decision directs all marketers to alter retail prices for the petroleum product across states.

    Before now, there had been speculations that the fuel price will be determined at a latter time. However, the new table of retail prices for different geopolitical zones of the country has been reeled out by the management instructing marketers to effect the changes with immediate effect beginning from Wednesday, May 31, 2023.

    “Please implement meter change as approved effective today 31st May 2023. Wayne is to attend to all locations as relates to their area of coverage in our network,” a statement of the management reads.

    Source: Vanguard

  • Kyari meets Tinubu, gives update on removal of subsidy

    Kyari meets Tinubu, gives update on removal of subsidy

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has assured Nigerians that fuel queues in filling stations, following the affirmation of the removal of subsidy, will soon vanished.

    Malam Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), briefed State House correspondents after meeting President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Tinubu, had in his inaugural speech on Monday, commended the past administration for phasing out the petrol subsidy regime, which had increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor.

    Kyari said that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) stipulated that the price of petroleum should be determined by market forces.

    “I know all us must have seen the fuel queues in filling stations across the country.

    “It is very understandable that whenever announcements to changes to prices of petroleum happen, both buyers and marketers will like assurance of what exactly this means and typically, consumers will rush to the filling stations to fill their tanks and that is why you are seeing these queues.

    “And also for marketers, they will like to see exactly what this means in terms of how are we going to sell the products if subsidy on PMS is removed?

    “And the combination of the two is what you are seeing -the obvious dislocation on distribution and we believe that this will go away very quickly.

    “And as you may be aware, PIB which was accented in 2021 and became an Act, made it clear that the price of petroleum must be priced at the market,” Kyari stated.

    He said, however, that the government also decided to provide for subsidy in the 2022 Appropriation Act and also for half year in 2023.

    According to him, while the PIA is clear that petroleum should be priced, but it did not say that government cannot put its money in any way it wants.

    “Therefore, we, as a commercial company established by the PIA, we are doing it strictly as business; delivering value as supply of last resort by virtue of the law but at a cost to the federation.

    “And that cost includes the cost of subsidy; this subsidy cost should have been money that will be given to the NNPC, may be on monthly or daily basis.

    “However, since the provision of the N6 trillion in 2022 and N3.7 trillion in 2023, we have not received no payment whatsoever from the federation; that means they are unable to pay and we continue and continue to support the subsidy from the cash flow of the NNPC.”

    He also explained further:“That is when we net off our physical obligations of taxes and royalties, there is still a balance we are funding from our cash flow and that has become very difficult, and it affects our other operations.

    “We are not able to keep some of this cash to invest in our core businesses and the end result is that it can be a huge challenge for the company.

    “And we have highlighted this severally to government; that they must compensate NNPC; they must pay NNPC for the money we have spent on subsidy.’’

    The NNPC Ltd boss said that by virtue of the law and the Appropriation Act 2023, funding was no longer available while the country could no longer fund the subsidy and no longer able to pay NNPC.

    “Therefore, we are pleased to note the president’s commitment to the removal of subsidy because they cannot afford it anymore.

    “And we will take necessary steps to ensure that we recover our cost from the market and also being mindful of the fact that situations like this can lead to exploitation of customers.

    “And we are working with the regulator who is here with me to see how we can cap such excessive management of greed to say the least,” Kyari said.

    “And this will be contained by virtue of the provisions of the law; the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the competitor agencies will play their part.

    “We believe very strongly that this is actually belated; we have been doing subsidy that has no significant value to the rest of the federation and the rest of our countrymen.

    “And we think this is a very commendable step taken by the president to bring into effect the provisions of the law,’’ he added.

    On his part, Mr Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive of NMDPRA, said that the pronouncement by the president was in tandem with the law.

    Ahmed said that prospective importers who met the criteria would be licenced to import fuel in order to ease pressure on NNPC.

    He said that efforts were underway to make sure that consumers were not exploited.

    “We also understand the provision of the law that provided for the removal of subsidy from February 2021; therefore, the president’s pronouncement yesterday was in line with the law.

    “However, what I can assure is that we are ready to license anybody who wants to import because NNPC has always been supplier of PMS.

    “However, with the removal of subsidy as pronounced by the president that opened the floodgate for any intending marketer that wants to import PMS, we are ready to issue lincences for them to do; at least that will open up competition and of course there will be less burden on NNPC.

    “I also want to assure the general public that NMDPRA and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission will make sure that consumers are not taken advantage of,’’ he said.