…As PPPRA says 18bn litres of PMS supplied in 2019***
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday met behind closed doors with the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mela Kyari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The newsmen reported that the agenda of the meeting was unknown as at the time of filing this report.
The meeting came amidst the escalating tension between the United States and Iran following the killing of an Iranian commander last week and the subsequent retaliatory attacks on military bases housing American troops in Iraq.
The president, who equally serves as Minister of Petroleum Resources, would also be meeting with the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, later on Wednesday.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, gained 2.4% to reach $70.24 per barrel on Monday, the first time prices have hit that amount in more than seven months.
In the meantime, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) said that over 18 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol was supplied in Nigeria in the year 2019.
PPPRA disclosed this in its PMS report signed by its Executive Secretary, Alhaji Abdulkadir Saidu and released in Abuja, on Wednesday.
It said that total quantity of PMS supplied across the nation as at November 2019 was 18.6 billion litres and the PMS average sufficiency stood at 40.68 days.
It emphasised the need for enhanced private participation in the refining business and the revamping of the nation’s refineries for improved production.
The report further revealed that 1,612 vessels laden with different petroleum products docked in Nigerian waters in 2019.
A breakdown of Marketers performance shows that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was responsible for 99.61 per cent of the total 19 billion litres of petrol that was imported.
It noted that the Major Oil Marketers of Nigeria (MOMAN) imported 0.39 per cent in 2019.
Also read: FID: NNPC partners Shell, Total, Eni on NLNG Train 7 – Mele Kyari
On the other hand, 166.3 million litres of PMS was produced locally in the same year.
The report revealed that other petroleum products imported into the country were 5 billion litres of AGO, 128 million litres of HHK, 952 million litres of ATK, 307 million litres of Base Oil, 126 million litres of Bitumen and 46 million litres of LFPO.
Commenting, Abdulkadir Said, the PPPRA Executive Secretary, said that fiscalisation of imported products was efficiently carried out at sea ports by industry recognised cargo inspectors in conjunction with the PPPRA field staff at sea ports.
He commended the dogged efforts of some Marketers at sustaining the continuous development of the sector in spite the inherent global economic challenges.
“This is evident in the number of new facilities that emerged in the downstream subsector of the petroleum industry in 2019,” he said
Saidu further reiterated that the agency would continue to ensure transparency in the Oil and Gas value chain by making available reliable data to strategic government agencies such as NEITI, CBN and NBS for adequate planning and decision making in the country.
“The Agency will also continue to collaborate with the NNPC and other Oil Marketing Companies towards improving the regulatory environment as well as ensuring uninterrupted products availability,” he added.
