In a bid to address fuel supply challenges, petrol marketers have imported 123 million litres of petrol and are actively engaged in discussions with Dangote to enhance market stability.
At least four vessels transporting imported Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, arrived at seaports located along the nation’s borders between Friday, October 18 and Sunday, October 20.
A document acquired from the Nigerian Port Authority on Sunday reveals that approximately 123.4 million liters of PMS arrived at two seaports to enhance fuel supply across the nation.
The recent development corroborates an exclusive report by The PUNCH, revealing that oil dealers plan to import the commodity to complement supply from the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The dealers mentioned that the current supply from the plant in Lekki was inadequate to satisfy domestic demand.
They claimed that the plant was producing approximately 10 million liters of petrol daily, instead of the promised 25 million liters.
It was reported that dealers imported approximately 141 million liters of PMS after an increase in pump prices for petrol produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and distributed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
They stated that the fair market price, resulting from the government’s complete deregulation of the downstream oil sector, made it possible to import PMS.
An examination of the document revealed that the commodities arrived at Lagos’s Apapa port and Cross River State’s Calabar port.
However, our correspondent was unable to confirm whether any of the vessels were owned by NNPCL or solely by oil marketers.
The initial consignment of 35,000 metric tonnes of PMS designated for the West African Port Services docked at terminal ASPM jetty on Friday, October 18, at 10:13 a.m.
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This was followed by the allocation of 37,000 metric tonnes of fuel to Intership at 3:37 PM. It also docked at terminal ASPM jetty.
At 3:59 PM that same day, another vessel docked with a cargo of 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel. Peak Shipping was appointed as its agent.
A vessel transporting 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel arrived at the Eco Marine Terminal in Calabar port on Sunday at 8:02 a.m.
As a result, the four vessels delivered 92,000 metric tonnes.
Using the conversion rate of 1,341 liters per metric tonne, it can be inferred that the marketers imported approximately 123.4 million liters of petrol.
In a previous interview, George Ene-Ita, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, stated that marketers with approved import licenses are allowed to bring in PMS.
He emphasized, however, that the products must undergo three major tests conducted by the agency.
All products must undergo our testing protocols at the ports and meet specified standards before we authorize them for offloading to their terminals.
Additionally, before the smaller vessels transport it further inland to Nigeria, our team will travel to the location to inspect the product and conduct tests to ensure that it meets the specified standards.
“Tests are conducted at the point of origin for the products. Additionally, once these products arrive and before they are released to market, further testing is performed to ensure compliance with specifications,” he stated.
