Thursday, 26 October 2023 04:40

FX scarcity forces closure of 90% of fuel depots nationwide - Operators

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Ninety percent of depots operated by independent oil marketers are currently closed on the back of a lack of supplies caused by currency volatility and difficulties in the local distribution channel, industry operators say.

Mohammad Salaudeen, Executive Director of Northwest Petroleum and Gas Limited, said marketers licensed to import petrol since deregulation couldn’t because of the cost of operations.

Representing Winifred Akpani, MD/CEO of the firm, on a panel session titled “Africa Fuels’ Update: Overview of Trends and Market Developments,” at the ongoing Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Week 2023 in Lagos, Salaudeen said operations from importation to distribution to the end users have been hampered by the unstable dollar/naira exchange rate, leading to a high cost of operations.

“We’ve seen the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited retail stations not operating at some point. If NNPC stations (that are the big boys) are not operating, what happens to people like us?

“The challenge today is that, firstly, we can’t import the product,” he said. “Secondly, the NNPC brings it in in smaller volumes. So what will get to us…We’ll have to wait.”

According to the executive director, when marketers put forth their request, it’s like they are in a queue, “when it gets to your turn, you’ll get it. That is the challenge of today.”

“Unfortunately, we have to wait for quite some time for us to be able to move forward on this and that’s the position that marketers face.”

Earlier at the event, Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory NMDPRA, said that eight (8) wholesale petroleum product suppliers out of 94 licensed oil marketers were granted import permissions and supplied eight cargoes of PMS totaling 251,000 MT (291,238,670.69 litres) between June and September 2023.

However, he expressed confidence that the government’s efforts to restore the stability of the harmonised FX market will assist in the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, by other oil marketing companies in addition to the state-owned oil companies.

On the other hand, the 21 depots operated by the state-owned oil company are not functioning, according to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).

“Without mincing words, none of the depots is working,” said Dele Tajudeen, Zonal Chairman, IPMAN Southwest.

Representing Chinedu Okoronkwo, National President of the Association, Tajudeen said the only option left is to explore private depots across the country.

“Once these depots start working, a marketer in Kaduna won’t have to come to Lagos to move products.

“When all these are put in place, the traffic and the cost of transportation will be better,” he said. “By the time we are in serious full deregulation… The price of the commodity will surely come down.”

 

Businessday

June 28, 2025

Nigeria experiences sharp decline in Foreign Investment as FDI fell 19% in Q1 2025

Nigeria’s appeal to foreign investors continued to wane in the first quarter of 2025, with…
June 26, 2025

Peter Obi decries ‘coordinated lawlessness’ after brother’s property is demolished in Lagos without court order

Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has condemned what he described as a brazen act of…
June 28, 2025

7 genius responses to ‘put rude people in their place,’ according to communication experts

Kathy & Ross Petras Rude people are, sadly, all around us. We deal with them…
June 21, 2025

Man convicted of posing as flight attendant to fly for free 120 times

A 35-year-old American man has been found guilty of impersonating a flight attendant at least…
June 26, 2025

17 soldiers killed, dozens injured in fierce gun battles with terrorists in Niger, Kaduna

Seventeen soldiers have been confirmed dead and at least ten others injured following coordinated attacks…
June 29, 2025

Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 632

IDF kills key Hamas founder and mastermind of Oct 7 terror attack in Israel The…
June 25, 2025

Tesla robotaxi launch: Why getting from dozens to millions of self-driving cars won't be easy

Tesla (TSLA.O) finally has a robotaxi. Now comes the hard part. The electric-vehicle maker deployed…
May 13, 2025

Nigeria's Flying Eagles qualify for World Cup after dramatic win over Senegal

Nigeria's U-20 national football team, the Flying Eagles, have secured their place at the 2025…

NEWSSCROLL TEAM: 'Sina Kawonise: Publisher/Editor-in-Chief; Afolabi Ajibola: IT Manager;
Contact Us: [email protected] Tel/WhatsApp: +234 811 395 4049

Copyright © 2015 - 2025 NewsScroll. All rights reserved.