Fuel
Breaking: Again, NNPC increases fuel price
The pump price of petrol has been increased by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to N1,030 per litre at its outlets in nationwide.
This price hike was noticeable on Wednesday, as the NNPCL ended its exclusive purchase agreement with Dangote Refinery, marking a significant shift in Nigeria’s fuel market.
Indeed, report had stated that NNPC would no longer be as the sole buyer of petrol from Dangote Refinery.
Consequently, the refinery is now free to sell its products to other marketers who can purchase fuel directly.
This will create competition in a deregulated market where prices will be negotiated on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis.
A visit by our reporter to one of NNPC outlets in Lagos showed an adjustment in petrol price to N1,030 per litre.
In September, NNPC ssid it purchasef petrol from Dangote Refinery at N898.78 per litre and sold to marketers at N765.99 per litre, effectively subsidizing the product by N133 per litre. However, the company has since declared that continuing the subsidy was unsustainable, leading to the current market adjustment.
Between September 15 and 30, NNPC lifted approximately 103 million litres of petrol from Dangote Refinery, a small fraction of the 400 million litres originally planned for that period. Only 2,207 out of the 3,621 trucks sent to the refinery were loaded, resulting in a 26% delivery performance, as revealed by records seen.
There is no doubt tbat the latest phase has implications for Nigeria’s downstream oil sector as marketers gain direct access to the Dangote Refinery. However, it also raises concerns over how consumers will cope with the surging fuel prices in an already challenging economic environment.
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