Abuja, Nigeria
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) says the price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol from the Dangote Refinery will determined by market forces.
The company revealed this in a statement signed by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, on Thursday in Abuja. The statement said the product will begin to flood the market from September 15, 2024.
On 5th September, the Dangote Refinery in a statement said the company will not be able to determine the price of its petrol.
The company added it was the responsibility of some relevant government authorities to determine the price.
In a statement on Friday, quoting NNPCL’s Executive Vice President of Downstream, NNPC Ltd, Adedapo Segun, Soneye said the downstream sector had been fully deregulated, and the company would no longer fix prices.
His argument puts to rest speculations that NNPCL would continue to fix prices despite the announcement that the downstream sector had been deregulated.
The speculation was also fueled by reports that NNPCL would be the sole lifter of petrol from the Dangote refinery.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has stated that foreign exchange (forex) illiquidity has been a significant factor influencing the fluctuation in prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which are governed by unrestricted free market forces, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA),” the statement said in part.
The company while quoting Segun explained that the current fuel scarcity was expected to “subside in a few days as more stations recalibrate and begin selling PMS.”
He said Section 205 of the PIA, which established NNPC Ltd, stipulated that petroleum prices were determined by unrestricted free market forces.
“The market has been deregulated, meaning that petrol prices are now determined by market forces rather than by the government or NNPC Ltd. Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices,” Segun said.
He added that NNPC Ltd was awaiting the September 15th timeline provided by the refinery to commence lifting of petrol for the Nigerian market.
Segun, who said no right-thinking individual would be comfortable with the current fuel scarcity, added that the NNPC Ltd had nearly a thousand filling stations nationwide and was collaborating with marketers to “ensure that stations open early, close late, to maintain adequate fuel supply to meet the needs of Nigerians.”
“We are also engaging relevant authorities to ensure product diversions are prevented and timely deliveries to all stations are ensured. The scarcity should ease in the next few days as more stations recalibrate and begin operations.”
Segun’s clarification comes after the Federal Government declared that there was going to be a massive supply of petrol at the weekend as vessels had started offloading, but ruled out PMS price fixing.
