NNPC regains sole importer status as oil marketers battle FX constraints

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has regained its status as the sole importer of petrol into the country.

Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of NNPC, spoke on Monday at the energy and labour summit of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in Abuja.

In June 2023, following the removal of the petrol subsidy, the national oil company said it was no longer the sole supplier of petrol in the country. 

Prior to the announcement, the company served as the country’s last-resort supplier, ensuring a steady distribution of petroleum products.

On June 15, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) granted licenses to oil marketers to commence importation of petroleum products.

This enabled Emadeb Energy Services Limited to import about 27 million litres of petrol into the country on July 20, making it the first private company to do so in the post-subsidy regime.

However, speaking at the conference, Kyari said the situation had changed as licensed private oil firms are unable to obtain foreign currency for importation.

“We are the only company importing PMS into the country,” he said.

“None of them (fuel companies) can do it today. That means we can manage the market situation without creating any subsidy environment. But for them, access to foreign exchange is difficult. We have access to FX; we create FX, therefore, we have access to FX and their access to FX is limited.”

Kyari added that the increasing diesel price would have an adverse effect on petrol as transporters will “jack up the cost of transportation” of the product across the country.