NNPC Warns Oil Marketers Against Inflating Price Of Petrol, Threatens Sanctions

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd on Wednesday warned oil marketers against taking advantage of the gap in the distribution of Premium Motor Spirit to hike the pump price of petrol.

The gap was created by the withdrawal of the methanol-blended petrol which was imported into the country about three weeks ago.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, while speaking during a joint press briefing with , Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), said there is no plan to adjust the pump price of petrol.

Motorists had besieged the few filling stations that dispensed PMS in Abuja and neighbouring Nasarawa and Niger states as many outlets in Nasarawa and other states sold the commodity at N200/litre and above.

But Kyari warned filling stations that are selling the product above the approved regulated price of between N162 and N165 per litre to desist from such practice, adding that the National Oil Company will not fail to sanction any marketer that is found to have inflated the price of PMS.

He said, “NNPC has no plan to adjust the ex-depot price, we do not have any plan to adjust the price of Premium Motor Spirit.

“Therefore, I call on all oil marketers to ensure that they sell petrol product at the fuel station at the price that is approved by government.

“The NUPENG has issued a warning to alert Nigerians of some of the practices in some depot selling prices above their ex-depot prices.

“We have engaged NUPENG,PTD,DAPPMAN and MOMAN and we have all agreed that NNPC will carry out sanctions on any one found doing this including refusal to sell PMS.

“Additionally, we are convinced that the Authority will carry out additional sanction as allowed by law on any defaulting depot owners and this will ensure that Nigerians will continue to buy PMS at the price that is approved by government in a sustainable manner and ensure that adequate supply will be in place.”

Kyari once again assured Nigerians that the NNPC has sufficient stock of petroleum products for distribution across the country.

He said that there are over 1.7 billion litres of PMS which the NNPC has in stock both on marine and on the Land.

The GMD lamented that the current fuel queues at the filling station was as a result of panic paying and called on Nigerians to buy what they need.

Kyari added that the NNPC is working assiduously with partners to ensure the product reaches every part of the country.

According to him “NNPC is further intensifying efforts to resolve distribution hitches being experienced in some parts of the country due to logistics issues.

“We have engaged depot operators to load product round the clock to accelerate the restoration of normal distribution.

“We have capacity now to load from all depots, we are currently running 24 hours loading from all our depots and we believe this will close the gap created by panic buying.

“We hope this will bring normalcy to the system soon. As the supplier of last resort, NNPC has continued to sustain adequate petroleum products supply and distribution to the Nation despite challenges associated with the unending waves of pipeline vandalism, product theft and Cross-border smuggling of PMS.

“In line with the existing laws of the land, NNPC Ltd is deeply committed to ensuring energy security for the country.”