The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has assured Nigerians that there is petrol sufficiency of over 1.6 billion litres as of January 26 both on land and marine.
In a statement yesterday, it said NNPC has additionally made a firm commitment to supply more volume of petrol for the months ahead to guarantee national energy security and nationwide availability at the government-regulated price.
The regulatory body said the current distribution hitch is heightened by activities of cross-border smugglers, who divert petrol meant for the Nigerian market to neighbouring countries where petrol prices are significantly higher than Nigeria’s regulated price.
“We are engaging and collaborating with the Nigeria Customs Service to address this issue. The price arbitrage between Nigeria and neighbouring countries has continued to grow due to inflation and the regional impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the global energy value chain including international freight rates and coastal vessels charter rates,” the statement said.
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NMDPRA also said the ongoing government effort to rehabilitate strategic Nigerian roads ahead of the rainy season has necessitated rerouting of tanker trucks conveying petroleum products to alternative roads, therefore increasing transit time and associated cost of product transportation.
It said NNPC and stakeholders have done modest adjustments in the cost of product transportation to cater for the impact of high AGO prices on transporters while making special provisions of diesel to marketers at a reduced price.
