Oil marketers lament shortages in petrol supply as NNPCL rations product

Petroleum marketers have revealed there may be serious issues with the supply of premium motor spirit, PMS few months after the removal of petroleum subsidy.

This has led to an upsurge in black market sales as most filling stations in Lagos and the neighbouring states have confirmed there have been recent shortages in supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

While commenting on the issue, the Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Lagos branch, Akin Akinrinade said the major depot that serves the south-west, the Mosimi depot has failed to supply PMS for about eight weeks now.

Akinrinade, while speaking with The Leadership also added that some petroleum marketers who already purchased tickets for product supply from Atlas Cove have been advised by the NNPCL to take products from MRS in Apapa.

Another oil marketer also said the inability of the major marketers to resume petrol import was a setback to the oil industry. “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” the source said.

The setback on petroleum importation according to the national president of IPMAN, Chinedu Okoronkwo has been linked to the scarcity of dollars as oil marketers who showed interest in petrol importation have pended the process for about two weeks now due to the dollar scarcity.

Ever since the Tinubu-led administration announced the removal of petroleum subsidy, the importation of PMS has declined according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS).

There has also been a drop in the consumption figures of PMS during the same period in review.

This was specifically noticed in the second quarter of the year as the data revealed petrol importation dropped by 17.5% from ₦1.49 trillion recorded in Q1 to ₦1.23 trillion in the second quarter of 2023.

Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, also showed that consumption of PMS dropped from 64.96 million litres in the previous months to 52 million litres daily in July.