The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, yesterday, stated that Nigeria imported 19.18 billion litres of petroleum products in 2019, while the country’s refineries produced only 166.33 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, in 2019. In a statement in Abuja, Executive Secretary of the PPPRA, Abdulkadir Saidu, noted that 18.62 billion litres of PMS was supplied in Nigeria in 2019. According to Saidu, the total quantity of PMS supplied across the nation as at November 2019 was 18.62 billion litres and the PMS average sufficiency stood at 40.68 days.
He noted that 1,612 vessels laden with different petroleum products docked in Nigerian waters in 2019. Saidu called for increased private participation in the refining business and the revamp of the country’s refineries for improved production and to stem the tide of fuel import into the country. He said, “A breakdown of marketers’ performance shows that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was responsible for 99.61 per cent of the total 19.18 billion litres of petrol that was imported, while Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria (MOMAN) imported 0.39 per cent in 2019.
On the other hand, 166.33 million litres of PMS was produced locally in the same year. “Other petroleum products imported into the country are 4.59 billion litres of Automotive Gasoline Oil, AGO; 128.11 million litres of Household Kerosene, HHK; 951.77 million litres of Aviation Turbine Kerosene, ATK; 306.79 million litres of Base Oil; 125.56 million litres of Bitumen and 45.98 million litres of Low Pour Fuel Oil, LPFO.” Saidu disclosed that fiscalisation of imported products was efficiently carried out at seaports by industry-recognised cargo inspectors in conjunction with the PPPRA field staff at seaports. He commended the dogged efforts of some marketers at sustaining the continuous development of the sector despite the inherent global economic challenges, adding that this was evident in the number of new facilities that emerged in the downstream subsector of the petroleum industry in 2019.
Saidu reiterated that the agency will continue to ensure transparency in the oil and gas value chain by making available reliable data to strategic government agencies for adequate planning and decision making in the country. Display petrol prices or face sanctions, PPPRA warns oil marketers “The PPPRA will also continue to collaborate with the NNPC and other oil marketing companies towards improving the regulatory environment as well as ensuring uninterrupted products availability,” he noted. Vanguard
