Major Marketers To Import 141 Million Litres Of petrol

Despite the availability of gasoline from the nearby Dangote plant, three of the nation’s major oil marketers are anticipating ships carrying imported fuel this week.

The Punch reports that after the Federal Government fully deregulated the downstream oil industry, traders claimed that approximately 141 million litres of PMS was being transported to Nigeria via vessels.

Marketers claim that space has been made available for PMS imports due to the recent increase in the pump pricing of petrol produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and released by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, or NNPCL, on Monday October 16.

This action is in response to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s announcement that all imported PMS will undergo at least three extensive testing by the organisation prior to being approved for nationwide distribution.

Remember that the NNPC declared on Monday that it will charge more than N1,000 per litre in the north for petrol refined at the Dangote plant. The NNPC claims that N950 is the lowest cost in Lagos and the surrounding areas.

The deregulation of the industry has officially begun, a major marketer told the publication, adding that he and his colleagues are anticipating their products (PMS) this week.

Each vessel would supposedly bring in over 35,000 metric tonnes of PMS, according to the merchant.

“Most marketers often import three parcels for this kind of transaction and the lowest parcel is about 35,000 metric tonnes of PMS. Now, because of how the business is run, you see marketers bringing in between two and three parcels. The marketer told the publication.

“This week, we expect about three marketers to bring in products. However, some of these imports are not cast in stone, in the sense that the influence of many regulatory authorities is still there. So it is not that you will just go and bring in products and you then start to sell them.

“The regulators, such as the NMDPRA, have to look at the quality, flash points and so many other things that should be taken into consideration before the product comes in. And when it lands, they will take samples and check them in their labs,” the marketer stated.

Asked if the three parcels of each of the major marketers would land this week, the dealer replied; “All of them are not going to bring in the three parcels at the same time. They bring in a parcel first and later, say in one week’s time or so, another parcel comes in. All these imports have storage implications.

“It is not something you do in a day. You can’t bring in one vessel today (Tuesday) and you bring in another one on Saturday. No, it is not done like that. This is not the importation of 20,000 or 30,000 litres of PMS.”

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli