- PENGASSAN suspends strike amid long queues at fuel stations
- Oil workers meet govt in Jan, NNPC cautions against panic buying
- DPR seals off 12 filling stations in Borno, Yobe
Abuja, Lagos – The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) distributed and sold about 1.3 billion litres of petroleum products throughout the country in September, a report has said.
A statement issued in Abuja on Monday by Mr Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC Group General Manager Public Affairs Division, said the figure was contained in the Sept. 2017 edition of the monthly NNPC Financial and Operations Report.
“The figure shows a 29 percent increase from the 950.67 million litres posted in the month of August 2017,’’ the report said.
The report showed that products, which were distributed and sold by the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), the downstream subsidiary of the NNPC comprised about 1.2 billion litres of petrol, 35.58 million litres of kerosene and 86.30 million litres of diesel.
“The total special products for Sept. 2017 were 9.29 million litres, comprising 7.43 million litres of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO), and other special products of 1.86 million litres.
“The sale of white products (petrol, kerosene and diesel) for the period September 2016 to September 2017 stood at 15.61 billion litres,” he said.
Strike Called off
Meanwhile less than 24 hours after it began an industrial action, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has backed off following the recall of its members who were sacked by Neconde Oil.But the agony of motorists in Lagos, Abuja and other cities across the country yesterday continued as the fuel supply situation witnessed no improvement.
Communicating the latest move, the National Public Relations Officer of PENGASSAN, Fortune Obi, said the suspension was after the intervention of the Director of DSS, Mr. Lawal Daura, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.He added that Neconde Oil Services, which allegedly sacked some PENGASSAN members, had re-absorbed those affected. According to Obi, the management of Neconde also agreed to allow a workers’ union in the company.
Ngige and the union, therefore, agreed to resolve an anti-union posture by other indigenous companies and marginal field operators. Another round of meeting where the agreement would be firmed up has been slated for the second week of January 2018.Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has cautioned motorists and other petroleum products’ consumers not to engage in panic buying. It warned marketers against hoarding products as law enforcement agencies, working with industry regulators, had been detailed to take appropriate measures against any defaulter.
The corporation further assured that there were enough petroleum products to keep the nation running. It also said yesterday in Abuja that relevant government agencies were in consultation with industry unions to arrive at an amicable resolution of issues over which there were threats of an industrial action.
Despite the NNPC’s assurance, Lagos residents yesterday saw the return of long queues at petrol filling stations.Black marketers made brisk business out of the situation. A 10-litre jerry was sold for about N2,500 depending on the location and seller instead of N1,450 at the normal pump price. A Conoil retail outlet along Airport road was under lock. One of the attendants told The Guardian that fuel was out of stock at the station on Sunday night owing to very long queues at the weekend.She disclosed that a truck was delivered to them midnight Friday and that she did not know when the next one would arrive.
The situation was the same at Forte Oil close to the local airport in Ikeja, as the premises were locked up while queues were outside. YTK Petroleum along Lagos-Abeokuta expressway was also locked up with no attendant sighted.Other stations monitored were Mobil along the airport road, MRS, Blue Shore Oil and Gas, Mojak and Total, among others.
Motorists in Ogun State had the same experience to narrate. From Sango, Ifo, Papalanto, Itori, Wasinmi, Obada Oko to Abeokuta, the few filling stations dispensing the product experienced long queues, as others who had opened earlier shut down around noon. The few stations that were dispensing, sold a litre for between N160.00 and N170.00.
The development led to a sudden increase in fares, leaving many commuters stranded at bus stops and motor parks in major cities across the country.The North-East operations comptroller of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Alhaji Idris Ali Zoaka, said in Maiduguri yesterday that some independent oil marketers and motorists are abetting fuel hoarding and price hike in Borno and Yobe states.
Zoaka advised motorists and the public to cooperate with DPR personnel by providing credible information on the fuel situation.He disclosed that 12 erring fuel stations had been sealed off for hoarding and selling fuel above the official pump price.
He, however, noted that the defaulting filling stations were allowed to sell the hoarded fuel to prevent further fuel scarcity.He ordered a fine of N100, 000 to be paid into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) before the erring fuel stations to resume the selling of petroleum products.
In terms of average daily sales and distribution of petroleum products, 42,752, 626 million litres of petroleum were recorded during the period.
According to the report, this comprises a daily petrol distribution figure of 38,690,970 million litres, 2,876,745 million litres of diesel, 1,185,906 million litres of kerosene and 2,677,995 million litres of special products.
In terms of revenue generation, PPMC posted a total sales figure of ₦151.42 billion for white products in September 2017, compared to ₦111.36 billion sold in August 2017.
Total revenue generated from the sales of white products for the period September 2016 to September 2017 stood at ₦1,877.42 billion, while petrol contributed about 85.08 percent of the total sales with a value of ₦1,596.98 billion.
Ughamadu said that the NNPC Financial and Operations Report was usually posted on the NNPC website and in national dailies to sustain effective communication with stakeholders.
According to him, this is in line with the corporation’s commitment to becoming more accountable and responsive.The September 2017 NNPC Financial and Operations Report is the 26th edition of the series.
