OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — Nigeria has assured its citizens of adequate petrol supplies amidst fears of Coronavirus outbreak on global demand and supply.
A statement by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA and signed by its Executive Secretary, Abdulkadir Saidu, said Nigerians have nothing to fear.
According to him, the agency’s January 2020 report on Oil and Gas sector operations showed that the national supply of petrol was at 1,828.62 billion litres, while Automotive Gas Oil, AGO and Aviation Turbine Kerosene, ATK were at 423.27 million litres and 96.70 million litres respectively.
The statement said the average PMS Days Sufficiency in January was at 41.34 days, AGO at 45.04 days, House Hold Kerosene, HHK at 9.36 days, while ATK and LPFO were at 53.73 and 33.75 days respectively
He said an activity highlighting report for week 21st – 27th February 2020, revealed that the average days’ Sufficiency stood at 42.28 days for PMS, AGO was 44.73 days while HHK was 20.36 days and ATK 36.22 days.
Also, during the said week, the total volume of PMS and AGO discharged were 551.01 million litres and 84.84 million litres respectively.
“Also, Crude oil prices in January averaged $63.51, $64.06 and $58.29 per barrel for Brent, Bonny, and WTI respectively, as against the December average prices of $67.02, $65.94 and $60.67 per barrel.
“Available data for week 4 of February 2020 indicated declines in the prices of Brent, Bonny, and WTI, which averaged $57.17, $57.14 and $52.86 per barrel respectively.
“The Report showed that constant monitoring of products supply and distribution by the Agency as well as the entrenchment of responsive pricing policy through monitoring of trends in market fundamentals and updating pricing template contributed to product availability nationwide,” he said.
He explained that it recorded a reduction in sharp practices by some operators as a result of vessel tracking, efficient scheduling, and monitoring by PPPRA independent cargo surveyors and field operatives, adding that it ensured that the NNPC and other Marketers maintained strict compliance to approved guidelines for the importation of petroleum products.
It reassured the public that it will continue to work with other relevant parties towards maintaining efficient petroleum products supply in the country.
The Coronavirus outbreak started in China early in the year, with over 90, 000 cases already recorded worldwide.
The first case of the virus was recorded in Nigeria late February, as the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu said few other cases in foreign nationals have been reported in Lagos.
