29 January 2015, Abuja — The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, said, yesterday, it was considering an upward review of filling station licence fees for oil marketers and operators in the oil and gas sector of the economy.
Zonal Controller of Operations at the DPR, Mr. Mohammed Usman, who stated this during an interactive session with independent and major oil marketers at its oil Marketers Annual General Meeting in Abuja, noted that the licence fees for filling station owners was the lowest in all business enterprises operating in Nigeria, saying they pay only N30,000 for two years.
He argued: “If those that are selling potatoes heard that we are charging the filling stations N30,000 as licence fees for two years, I am sure they will want to lynch us.”
He said it was based on this reason that the agency was considering an upward review of the licence fees.
Usman, however, said the agency would increase the tenure of the licence from two to five years, so it would be more convenient for them.
In his remarks, Vice President, Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Abubakar Shettima, urged the DPR to review the span of the licence from two to five years.
Shettima also called on the agency to ensure that the tank farm owners did not sell refined products above official price.
“In most of the places where we buy this product at the tank farm they sell above stipulated rate and when we bring this to our various stations we encounter difficulties in selling.
“We want the DPR to look into this problem, especially as regards Premium Motor Spirit and kerosene.”
