Energy Crisis: Petrol Price Hits N975 Per Litre In Central African Republic

…Sells For Over N500 Per Litre In Ghana, Mali, Niger, Liberia, Senegal, Others

The energy crisis being experienced globally as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine has pushed the price of petrol to about N975 per litre in the Central African Republic, THE WHISTLER can report.

This is just as the price increase is being experienced in other African countries such as Ghana, Mali, Niger, Liberia, Senegal, Cote d Voire, Togo, Benin, Cameroun, Chad and Burkina Fasso among others.

According to energy data obtained by THE WHISTLER, as of August 29, petrol was sold for N739 per litre in Sierra Leone, while in Senegal, the product sold for N577 per litre.

In Guinea, Mali, Burkina Fasso, and Liberia, petrol prices were N585, N577, N463, and N548 per litre respectively.

Similar increase in price was also seen in Ghana where the product sold for N589, Togo (N470), Benin (N389), Niger (N536), Cameroon (N423), and Chad (N362).

Economists have warned of further increase in energy prices for the remaining part of the year. This, it was learnt, will further affect consumers already dealing with rising food, electricity and transportation costs.

The trend is driven by both economic and geopolitical factors. For instance, energy supply is scarce and with mounting demand which had push up prices, there are fears that this may further constrain global output.

Even member countries of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries are not left out of the energy crisis caused by the Russian-Ukraine war.

THE WHISTLER findings showed that OPEC countries are currently experiencing high energy prices with pump price of petrol selling for N403 per litre in Qatar, and N443.8 per litre in Ecuador.

But in Nigeria, which is also an OPEC member state, the federal government has maintained a controlled price of N175 per litre through the payment of fuel subsidy.

The retention of the pump price of N175 per litre which is far below the landing cost of petrol is all in a bid to cushion the negative impact of global energy crisis on the cost of living on Nigerians.

When considered from the high price which crude oil is being sold in the international market, it is obvious that Nigeria is among the countries where petrol is being sold at a cheaper price.

This is because petrol is currently being sold at a subsidized price by the federal government.

THE WHISTLER had reported how the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, in playing it’s role to guarantee energy security for the country supplied Nigerians with a total of 38.81 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol in 20 months.

The NNPC has remained the supplier of last resort with a mandate to guarantee National energy security.

To meet the energy requirements in the country, the NNPC Ltd emplaced the crude oil for product swap arrangement which entails value-for-value crude oil swap for product delivery.

Analysis of the petrol supply data showed that out of the 38.81 billion litres of PMS imported into the country, 22.35 billion litres were supplied in 2021 giving an average daily supply of 61 million litres.

For the first eight months of this year, the data revealed that 16.46 billion litres were imported into the country. This translates into a daily average consumption of 68 million litres of petrol.

This is just as the under-recovery recorded by the NNPC for PMS importation was put at N5.12trn.

A breakdown of the N5.12trn showed that in 2021, during the period of low crude oil price as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sum of N1.77trn was recorded as under-recovery or subsidy while the balance of N3.35trn was recorded in the first eight months of this year.

The N3.35trn actual under-recovery for the first eight months of this year could be attributed to many factors such as the return to normal activity level post COVID-19, increase in exchange rate, and rise in product landing costs due to the negative impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Based on analysis of the data, the volume of crude oil imported into the country and the amount recorded as under-recovery followed have been following similar trend

For instance, in the Month of January last year, the NNPC imported 1.68 billion litres of petrol and recorded actual under-recovery of N34bn.

In February, March and April of last year, the importation of crude oil rose to 1.88 billion, 1.91 billion and 2.23 billion litres respectively, with under-recovery following similar upward trend of N61bn, N120bn and N149bn respectively.