In Abuja, NIPCO, Mobil, Other Filling Stations Sell Petrol Cheaper Than NNPC
By Abimbola Abdullah
The usual trend in the fuel marketing took a dramatic turn yesterday when NIPCO, and some privately owned filling stations in Abuja sold Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol cheaper than the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) stations.
The NNPC had announced an increase in the pump price of PMS to N1,030 per litre in Abuja and the Northern part of the country, while it sells for N988 – N998 per litre in Lagos State and others, depending on the transport margin.
This was after the national oil company ended its exclusive purchase agreement with the Dangote Refinery, meaning that the company will no longer be the sole off-taker.
According to a Premium Times report, NIPCO fueling station at Ahmadu Bello Way by Banex junction sold the product for N1,025 per litre yesterday.
Mobil filling stations located at Ahmadu Bello Way, Mabushi, and Obafemi Awolowo Way, Utako, also sold at N1,025 per litre.
NIPCO and Mobil fuel stations, both located along Airport road, also sold the product at N1,025 per litre.
However, Total Energies, located at Sultan Abubakar Way, Zone 3, sold the product for N1,080. Eterna filling station at Obafemi Awolowo Way, Utako, sold at N1,120. Shafa filling station, located along Airport road Lugbe, sold at N1,050.
Some observers believed that the trend indicated that the imported products are cheaper than that of Dangote fuel refined in-country.
Besides, an analyst told SlyeNews that the situation might arise as a result of several factors which bothers on cost management.
A fuel marketing expert, Adedayo Akande in a chart with SlyeNews, said:
“Several reasons could be responsible. Primary of this is the fact that importation of PMS has been fully opened to all operators. Marketers could sell at rates good for their bottom lines.
“This literally means that operators could comb any part of the world to get cheaper products without compromising quality.
“Also, operators could manage their expenditure to guarantee profits, no matter how minimal it is, while operators with high operating cost may find it difficult to sell at cheaper rates.
“In other ways, transport costs out of Lagos to other cities, especially Abuja and the Northern states could be better managed with adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered trucks to move products, this will reduce the cost of transportation,” he stated.
The spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chinedu Ukadike, in a reaction reacting to the latest fuel pricing by NNPC, said: “It is a price template that shows that the total deregulation of the oil and gas sector and the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act have taken off.”
“With this, I don’t think there is anything like a subsidy on petroleum products now. NNPC is now selling as they are buying from Dangote Refinery. NNPC is no longer a middleman for oil marketers.
“Marketers are to buy petrol products from Dangote Refinery. It has become a willing buyer, selling relationship. We are embracing the new NNPC price template,” he stated.
