Petrol queues resurface in Abuja, Lagos | NNPC blames supply disruption

Queues for petrol have resurfaced across filling stations in Lagos and the federal capital territory (FCT).

On Monday, TheCable observed that motorists waited in queues to fill their tanks, while other petrol stations were closed.

There were lengthy queues at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Retail station, before the Dunamis headquarters, on Monday morning.

Also, at the TotalEnergies filling station in Lugbe, long queues were seen extending to the road.

Shema and NNPC filling stations located along KaruAya expressway, were closed to customers.

In Lagos, queues were also observed in some filling stations.

There were queues for petrol at filling stations operated by TotalEnergies and Tecno Oil in Festac Town.

NNPC’s petrol station on Ago Palace Way also had long lines of eager buyers.

Speaking on the situation, Clement Isong, executive secretary at Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), told NAN on Sunday that delay in loading petroleum products at depots was a contributory factor to the situation.

“Many trucks could not load product for over 48 hours during the storm,” he said.

“Now that the weather is clear, marketers have begun loading, and all trucks have commenced distribution of fuel to all stations across the country.” 

‘FLOODING CAUSED FUEL QUEUES’

On its part, the NNPC Limited said the petrol queues in the FCT are primarily caused by the disruption of ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of petrol between mother vessels and daughter vessels.

This was due to recent thunderstorms and the consequential flooding of trucking routes which constrained movement of petrol to Abuja from coastal corridors, the national oil firm said in a statement on Monday.

“The adverse weather condition has also affected berthing at jetties, truck load-outs and transportation of products to filling stations, causing a disruption in station supply logistics,” the statement reads.

“The NNPC Ltd also states that due to flammability of petroleum products and in compliance with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) regulations, it was impossible to load petrol during rainstorms and lightning.

“Adherence to these regulations is mandatory as any deviation could pose severe danger to the trucks, filling stations and human lives.

“Similarly, the development was compounded by consequential flooding of truck routes which has constrained movement of PMS from the coastal corridors to the Federal Capital, Abuja.”

NNPC said it is collaborating with relevant stakeholders to resolve the logistics challenges and restore “the smooth supply of petrol to affected areas”.

“Already, loading has commenced in areas where these challenges have subsided, and we are hoping the situation will continue to improve in the coming days and full normalcy will restored,” the NNPC said.

The national oil company also called on motorists to avoid panic buying and hoarding of petroleum products.