Ease as petrol marketers import 123m litres to boost Dangote’s supply
In a significant move to enhance fuel availability, four vessels carrying imported Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly referred to as petrol, docked at seaports along the nation’s borders between October 18 and October 20.
According to information obtained from the Nigerian Port Authority on Sunday, approximately 123.4 million litres of PMS have arrived at two seaports to bolster fuel supply across the country.
This development aligns with an earlier report indicating that oil dealers are turning to imports to supplement the output from the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
READ ALSO: NNPC remains sole buyer of Dangote petrol – Independent marketers
Industry professionals have raised concerns about the current production levels from the Lekki-based facility, which reportedly produces around 10 million litres of petrol daily, significantly short of the promised 25 million litres to meet domestic demand.
In was reported in September that dealers imported about 141 million litres of PMS following a hike in the pump prices of petrol produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and released by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
They said the fair market price following the full deregulation of the downstream oil sector by the government allowed room for PMS imports.
An analysis of the document showed that the commodities landed at the Apapa port in Lagos and the Calabar port in Cross River State.
Our correspondent, however, could not confirm if any of the vessels belonged to the NNPCL or only oil marketers.
The first shipment carrying 35,000 metric tonnes of PMS allocated to the West African Port Services berthed at terminal ASPM jetty on Friday, October 18, at 10.13 am.
This was followed by 37,000 metric tonnes of fuel assigned to Intership at 3.37 pm. It also berthed at terminal ASPM jetty.
As of 3:59 pm of the same day, another vessel carrying 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel berthed. It was assigned to Peak Shipping as its agent.
At the Calabar port, a vessel carrying 10,000 metric tonnes of fuel arrived at the Eco marine terminal on Sunday at 8:02 am.
This means the four vessels brought in 92,000 metric tonnes.
Going by the conversion rate of 1,341 litres to one metric tonne, it, therefore, implies that the marketers brought in about 123.4 million litres of petrol.
When contacted in an earlier interview, the spokesperson of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, George Ene-Ita, said marketers with approved import licenses were free to import PMS.
He, however, stressed that the products must be subjected to three major tests by the agency.
“The products must be subjected to our testing protocols at the ports. The products must conform to stipulated standards before we authorise them to offload to their terminals.
“Also, before the smaller vessels bring it further inland to Nigeria, our people will fly to the place to see the product and carry out some tests to ensure the right specification is upheld.
“Tests are also done at the products’ origins. And when the products come in before they are released to the market, further tests would be conducted to ensure that they meet the specifications,” he stated.
Proofreading by Fa’izatu Aliyu Doma, Journalist at Neptune Prime.
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