The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has promised to stop the lineups for Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, by Wednesday, after the black market for PMS recorded massive sales.
As previously reported, NNPC also declared that it did not owe international oil merchants $6.8 billion, a development that some industry observers identified as a main cause of Nigeria’s severe PMS crisis.
However, despite the national oil firm’s pledge that petrol lineups will be cleared this week, oil marketers reported on Sunday that product loading at depots had not improved.
Black petrol marketers who marketed the product in jerrycans took advantage of the situation, selling PMS for as much as N1,200 to N1,500 per liter, depending on the area of purchase.
The sole importer of the commodity (NNPC) blamed the petrol constraint on evacuation issues at PMS vessels.
The NNPC is Nigeria’s sole petroleum importer. Other merchants ceased importing the commodities because they couldn’t have access to the US dollar, which was essential for fuel imports.
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, stated that the oil firm was working hard to tackle the fuel supply challenges, stressing that the queues should clear by mid-week.
“It’s just an evacuation challenge out of Apapa (ports in Lagos) from the vessel. But we are working on it. It should be resolved. I’m very sure that fuel scarcity will be cleared out by Wednesday,” Soneye stated on Sunday.
He later issued a press statement on the matter, saying, “The NNPC Ltd regrets the tightness in fuel supply witnessed in some parts of Lagos and the FCT (Federal Capital Territory), which is as a result of distribution challenges.
