‘We have 1.9bn litres in stock’ — NNPC assures Nigerians of petrol supply after DSS ultimatum

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has 1.9 billion litres of petrol in stock as it assured Nigerians of steady supply to quell the lingering scarcity across the country.

NNPC said this at a meeting with the Department of State Services (DSS) and other stakeholders in the midstream and downstream oil sector on Thursday, according to a statement by Peter Afunanya, spokesperson for the secret service.

The DSS, during the meeting, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the national oil company and marketers to resolve the ongoing petrol distribution crisis.

Responding to the ultimatum, Mele Kyari, NNPC’s group chief executive officer (GCEO), reaffirmed that the company “has in-country stock of PMS of over 1.9 billion litres, which is over 30 days sufficiency”.

Kyari, who was represented by Umar Ajiya, chief financial officer, NNPC, assured Nigerians of the availability of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol.

NNPC also pledged that it “will continue to sell the PMS product, ex-coastal price agreed with the regulator to all marketers, especially the IPMAN members with a view to also providing depots specifically meant for their off-take in order to curtail the profiteering that they have been experiencing in some depots”.

“NNPC has also made procurement for the supply of similar volume from now till end of March 2023,” he said.

“We have also directed operation team to engage in 24 hours loading of PMS in the next couple of days and make sure some outlets operate 24hours without compromising security in order to bring quick relief to the people.”

Meanwhile, the participants at the meeting include: the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DPPMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN), National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO).

The associations, after the meeting, agreed to work together to clear the persistent petrol queues at filling stations nationwide, within the next 48 hours.

Speaking earlier, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO), NMDPRA, pledged to collaborate with the NNPC and all stakeholders in order to ensure that issues regarding supply of petroleum products are well addressed.

On his part, Femi Adewole, executive secretary, DAPPMAN, said the foreign exchange challenge confronted by depot owners was also discussed and efforts were on to address it.

“The challenges to marketers, especially depot owners, were explained and the meeting agreed and actually noted the forex component challenge and its input into our cost should in all ideal cases be recovered reasonably. That was agreed upon,” Adewole.

“We also agreed that based on the assurances of products given to marketers, provided by NNPC, we will ensure that, going forward, all depots work 24 hours based on the security risks appraised.

“We will work 24 hours to ensure that the queues in town are reduced. Our retail outlets, spread nationwide, will also ensure that they sell 24 hours based on our security situation appraised. I want to assure Nigerians that, going forward, they will be able to get fuel in filling stations without too much hitch or harassment.”

In the last few weeks, the country has been battling petrol scarcity, spreading to several parts of the country.

While the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said the scarcity was caused by the shortage of petrol at NNPC depots, the state-owned oil firm had said ongoing road projects in Lagos affected distribution.