Monday, july 20, 2015 (new)

A10 26

Business Courage

Monday, July 20, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Energy Review

Queues resurface at lling stations, despite govt, NNPC, others ’ assurance Gbenga Odogun

N

otwithstanding the assurances the immediate past government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and marketers that the crisis that had bedevilled the downstream sub sector occasioned by lingering fuel scarcity will be frontally addressed through the payment of outstanding subsidy arrears, long queues have again resurfaced at lling stations nationwide.

The latest ugly development may not be unconnected with the inability of marketers to replenish their stocks due to the refusal of banks to renew their loan agreements just as the furore over nonpayment of the subsidy arrears remains, albeit subtly even as another subsidy regime has just been conrmed by the Presidency.

Investigations indicated that some major oil marketers had run out of stock at their various depots, thereby causing many lling stations not to dispense petrol to motorists at the weekend, A few stations that were opened were selling at above the ofcial price of N87 per litre.

The oil marketers, who attributed the present scarcity to the inability of the Federal Government to meet its subsidy obligation of over N350 billion, also expressed their doubts about the capacity of the NNPC to sustain importation to bridge the current supply gap.

The Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Olufemi Olawore, said that the Corporation would not be able to bridge the current supply gap as the private importers controls over 60 per cent of the PMS market.

He explained: “NNPC lacks the capacity to bridge the present supply gap in the country because we control over 60 per cent of the fuel retail market while NNPC only controls 40 per cent. If NNPC claimed that it can meet the PMS needs of consume Olawore said that consumers should be ready for hard times. “Right now, it is getting to a halt because we are bleeding; our suppliers are on us to pay for products supplied.

“As at April 22, what we have in our depots at Apapa will only last for three and half

Olawore

days, which shows that our members are nding it hard to bring in products. Our banks here are not even helping the situation because it has not been easy to access loan from them, ” he said.

In spite of the supply hiccups, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, has assured of steady and adequate supply of petroleum products across the country.

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Farouk Ahmed, disclosed that the PPPRA national petroleum products

Ahmed

stocks data indicated that the available stocks could sustain the country currently for 46 days.

This he said comprises both land-based stock of over 28-day sufciency and marine stock of about 18-day sufciency.

He stated that daily PMS discharges by vessels are ongoing at jetties and depots nationwide.

Ahmed explained that currently, about 13 vessels are discharging petrol at various depots and jetties in Lagos, Port-Harcourt,

Calabar, Okrika and Oghara, with another 16 more vessels at offshore Lagos waiting to discharge.

The PPPRA Executive Secretary reassured that trucking of product have been ongoing at coastal depots following appeals made to the National Association of Road Transport Owners ,NARTO, adding that security agencies have also assured NARTO of the safety and security of their trucks and drivers.

While appealing to Nigerians to be calm and not engage in panic buying, the PPPRA

Executive Secretary warned that the Agency will not hesitate to sanction any Marketer or Depot Owner caught hoarding PMS. However, the federal government has resolved to keep the much disputed subsidy policy To this end, a list of companies allowed to import under the scheme for the third quarter, with almost no changes to the rms or volumes of fuel involved, which will be just over 1.5 million tonnes of gasoline has been released A statement last week quotes president Buhari as saying “I have received ... literature on the need to remove subsidies, but much of it has no depth, ” Poor security, sabotage, vandalism, corruption and mismanagement - not necessarily subsidies - are the most serious problems of Nigeria ’s oil sector, he added.

Experts estimates the cost of fuel subsidies for the coming quarter at about 100 billion naira ,$503 million while allocation for the full year, may hit 103 billion naira, based on oil prices of $57 a barrel.

Buhari said he would “carefully review all the submissions he had received on the need to remove the subsidies ”. BC