Ike Amos
02 July 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Sunday, said its strategic interventions in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry had led to a further drop in the price of Automotive Gasoline Oil, AGO, to as low as N155 per litre across the country.
In a statement by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, the NNPC said AGO, also known as diesel, in a recent survey had over the last few weeks, fallen steadily from between N175 and N200 per litre as at June 18, 2017, to as low as between N155 and N160 per litre in some stations across the country as at last week.
He said the study showed that NNPC Mega Stations and its affiliates across the country sold the product for N160 per litre while many major and independent marketers in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Onitsha, Enugu, Makurdi and most major cities were selling between N160 and N165 per litre. In Port Harcourt, the average price is as low as N150 per litre.
However, he said the situation was slightly different in Asaba and Warri in Delta State and Uyo in Akwa Ibom state where most independent fuel stations as well as major marketers, sold the product for N180 per litre.
Ughamadu added that NNPC’s interventions included sustained improvement in the supply of the product and remodeling of the product distribution channels to address sufficiency issues across the country.
He disclosed that another area of intervention that has enhanced supply and distribution of diesel was the corporation’s robust engagement with critical downstream stakeholders such as Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) as well as Independent Petroleum Marketers, leading to the resolution of salient issues.
He said, “The corporation has also taken huge steps to resuscitate some of its critical pipelines and depots such as the Atlas Cove – Mosimi Depot Pipeline, Port-Harcourt Refinery – Aba Depot Pipeline, Kaduna – Kano Pipeline and the Kano Depot which have enhanced efficiency in the distribution of AGO. Efforts are also ongoing to revamp and re-commission other critical pipelines and depots across the country.
“Furthermore, as a result of consistent positive engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the corporation has equally achieved the expansion of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) Foreign Exchange Intervention Scheme to accommodate diesel and aviation fuel.”
Ughamadu noted that in first quarter 2017, retail prices of AGO, which is one of the deregulated products, shot up to an all-time high of N300 per litre in major demand centres across the country, stating that the unpleasant situation placed a huge burden on truck drivers who use the product as fuel for their vehicles and the nation’s manufacturing sector which requires it to run its operations, as well as on the masses who need it for household power generation.
