The Federal Government, on Wednesday, confirmed that other oil marketers have joined in the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, following the recent removal of subsidy on the commodity.
It revealed that about three mega oil marketers were currently expecting PMS cargoes in July, while many others had applied for licences to import the product, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the sole importer of the commodity, was cutting down on its PMS imports.
This came as the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) expressed optimism that the new foreign exchange policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as revealed by Deposit Money Banks on Wednesday, could lead to a reduction in the pump price of petrol.
After a meeting with oil marketers in Abuja on Wednesday the Chief Executive of Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed said that some newly licensed importers of petrol were expecting their cargoes in July.
The NMDPRA met with members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, as well as NNPCL officials.
Ahmed said: “The market is open already, we have to follow the regulations. So we have rolled out policies that are user-friendly. Some of them (marketers) have already started putting their applications in place. This is because we don’t want to create a gap.
“NNPCL is slowing down on their importation, so we have to have someone who is closing up on that gap that NNPCL is creating in order not to have a shortage in the country. But NNPCL is also monitoring the replacements that they have. We agreed that NNPCL will continue to import until such a time when we have a critical mass of other importers.
“On licences, of course, we are processing them. About two or three marketing companies came to us last week to say they have already booked cargoes to come in July. So these are some of the very interesting propositions that we have received”.
He stated that the NMDPRA was “fast-tracking the process of issuing licences to others to import petrol. Again, we are interacting every day with NNPCL to ensure that the market is well supplied and there is no gap in importation”.
On Foreign Exchange (FX), the NMDPRA boss said the market was currently deregulated, adding that, “I don’t believe that we should subsidise on FX”.
Ahmed said: “Those prices that the NNPCL rolled out, which they sell now, took cognisance of the exchange rate of about N650/$. So if the naira improves, then the price will change. It can go either way”.
NOGASA National President, Benneth Korie told journalists that marketers were optimistic that the new foreign exchange policy of the CBN would impact petrol prices positively.
“We expect the CBN to come out with its new policy on the exchange rate, and if the rate is down, the price of PMS will be down on its own”, Korie said, adding that many marketers were looking forward to seeing a unified exchange rate from the apex bank.
He said: “Right now people are buying little quantities because you are not too sure; for if you go and import heavily now, and the exchange rate drops down from N450/$, you are finished.
“So everybody is watching and that is why it is important for CBN to come up with a uniform price as soon as possible”.
The NOGASA president explained that the hike in petrol price was due to the removal of subsidy on the commodity after it was announced by President Bola Tinubu during his inaugural address on 29th May 2023.
“The price you saw on the day the cost of petrol rose was because the subsidy on petrol was removed. And they (NNPCL) quickly checked how much the landing cost of petrol will be, and they came up with their prices.
“It is not as if they fixed the prices on their own. No, they didn’t, rather they only brought out what they will sell. Mind you, the day they removed the subsidy, my own filling station sold petrol at N220/litre for three days before we changed the price”, he said.
