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Tag: PMS

  • Fuel scarcity: Kachikwu allays fears, insists ‘no plans to increase pump price of PMS’

    Fuel scarcity: Kachikwu allays fears, insists ‘no plans to increase pump price of PMS’

    The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, has denied news reports that the federal government was planning to jack up the pump price of petrol, at present fixed at N145 per litre.

    Idang Alibi, the Director of Press in the ministry in a statement on Thursday night, clarified the minister’s submission made to the joint committee of the National Assembly on Petroleum Downstream.

    “The Ministry of Petroleum Resources would like to categorically state that the Honourable Minister never mentioned nor insinuated the need or plans by the Federal Government to increase the current pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS),” Mr. Alibi said.

    Mr. Alibi restated what Mr. Kachikwu told the hearing, shown live on NTA that the presidency has set up a special committee to identify the immediate and remote causes of the fuel scarcity with a view to finding both immediate and long lasting solutions to the challenge.

    “The Committee has been in rounds of deliberations in the past few days and these discussions are still ongoing. The final decisions and recommendations from the Committee would be passed on to the President and Commander-In-Chief for approval”, said Mr. Alibi.

    He urged the public and indeed stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to disregard any such report of a price increase.

    Mr. Kachikwu told the public hearing at the National Assembly on Thursday that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, had incurred a cumulative loss of N85.5 billion in importing petrol and selling at the current retail price of N145 per litre, since October 2017.

    He said the price was fixed in the first quarter of 2016, when crude oil was selling for $49 and expressed fears that with crude price rising to $67 a barrel, the pump price, may no longer be sustainable.

    According to him, the landing cost of PMS which was N133.28 per litre in 2016, is now N171 per litre and this has resulted into stoppage of importation of the product by independent marketers.

    This, he said had made the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to be the 100 per cent importer of the product.

    The minister disclosed further that as a result of the N26 difference per litre between the current landing cost of the product (N171) and pump price of N145, NNPC which had been singularly importing the product at the volume of 25million litres per day since October last year, has been incurring a daily loss of about N800-N900million, cumulatively reaching N85.5billion today, in just three months.

    According to him, government has mandated him and a committee set up, to find ways out of the problem until the local refineries become functional in 18 months’ time.

    He said three solutions are being considered.

    “One, is for the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) to allow the marketers access forex at the rate of N204 to a dollar as against the official rate of N305 to keep the pump price of fuel per litre at N145.

    “Two, to give room for modulated deregulation where NNPC would be allowed to continue selling at N145 per litre in all its mega stations across the country while the independent marketers should be allowed to sell at whatever price is profitable to them in all their outlets.

    “Three, to look at the direction of blanket subsidy for all the importers in bridging the gap which would be like going back to a problem that had earlier been solved,” he said.

    He, however, stressed that the final solution to the problem was for the nation to put her refineries in good shape in a way that 80 per cent of local consumption of the product should be provided for locally.

  • Fuel scarcity: NUPENG confirms massive loading of PMS at depots

    The South-West Chairman of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Mr Tayo Aboyeji, on Monday confirmed that massive loading of petrol was ongoing at different depots in Lagos.

    Aboyeji made the confirmation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, assuring Nigerians that the current scarcity of fuel would end in the next two days.

    According to the chairman: “I am glad to tell you that the product is now available and today, being Christmas holiday, tanker drivers are waiting to collect the product.

    “Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is now making use of Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) tank farms to distribute petrol.

    “This is to accelerate the product to different locations. As I am talking to you, our members are taking the product out of depots to filling stations across the country.

    “To make it quicker, NNPC is also using Folawiyo depot, Aiteo and NIPCO depots and I can tell you that the rate at which loading is taking place now, the crisis will soon be over,” he said.

    Atoyebi denied allegation of diversion of the product by his members, adding that such had not been reported to him.

    “To the best of my knowledge no such cases have been reported to the union.

    “It is not easy to divert the product because petroleum tankers loaded were being monitored to their destinations,” he said.

    He urged Nigerians to desist from panic buying, adding that the product was now available.

    “Nigerians should not result to panic buying now; petrol is available in depots unlike few days ago when the product was not available.

    “The product will be in all filling stations in few day’s time, so buy only what you will use and stop hiding petrol in your house, it is dangerous,” he said.

     

  • 3 petrol dealers face N58m fraud charge

    3 petrol dealers face N58m fraud charge

    Three petroleum products dealers who allegedly obtained the sum of N58 million from a businessman under false pretences, were on Thursday charged before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.

    The accused: Abubakar Adamu,40; Abubakar Aliyu, 54, and Isah Ibrahim, 34, are standing trial on a three-count charge of fraud, stealing and conspiracy.

    The accused, however, denied the charge.

    The Prosecutor, SP Eshiet Eshiet, had told the court that the accused committed the offences between March and April in Lagos.

    Eshiet said that the accused obtained the sum of N58 million from the complainant, Virginus Erims, of Virgiman Nigeria Ltd., under the guise of supplying six trucks of 50,000 litres of petrol (PMS) to him.

    He said that other products the accused promised to supply to the complainant were one truck of 50,000 litres of diesel (AGO) and one truck of 50,000 litres of kerosene (DPK).

    “The accused knew that the representation was false, therefore, stole Mr Erims’s N58 million without supplying the products which the money was meant for,” Esheit said.

    According to him, the offences contravene Sections 285, 312 and 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.

    Counsel to the accused, Mr Casmir Okoli, urged the court to grant them bail on liberal terms.

    The Magistrate, Mrs S.K. Matepo, admitted each of the accused to bail in the sum of N5 million, with two sureties each in like sum.

    Matepo said that the sureties must be gainfully employed and that one of the sureties must be a blood relation of the accused.

    She also said that the sureties must show evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government and must produce relevant documents.

    She adjourned the case until July 10, for mention.