It said the action by the affected depots contravened the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, and also contributed to the recent PMS supply crisis in the downstream oil sector.

The Chief Executive, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, who disclosed this to journalists in Abuja, explained that the government had held several engagements with all stakeholders in the downstream oil sector.

“The stakeholders include the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, etc,” he stated.

Ahmed, however, stated that despite the engagements with the dealers and the fact that the sector was still a regulated market, the affected depots went ahead to hike the cost of petrol far higher than what was approved for them.

He said the government had confirmed that the price of chartering vessels for transportation of PMS by marketers had increased, but stressed that the issue had been discussed with marketer on how it would be addressed.

“We sat down with marketers to discuss these issues and how to address it. But the marketers have continued to increase the ex-depot price beyond reasonable margins,” Ahmed stated.

He added, “The increase is outrageous despite the fact that the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited) sells at a very low price to them. We had meetings with them (marketers) and asked them to comply with the approved price, but they have continued to increase the cost.

“So we had to take action and the first we took was to shut down some of the marketing depots. We shut down seven depots. We shut down Ardova and RainOil in Lagos, as well as all their facilities.”

The Chief Executive Officer, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Tuesday.

Ahmed said he had checked with the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria and Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd. on the level of fuel stock and confirmed that they had sufficient stock.

“I spoke with the MOMAN’S Executive Secretary this morning and he told me they have sufficient stock.I have directed them to start evacuating the product immediately to filling stations. NNPC has also confirmed sufficiency and they have commenced evacuation.From now till tomorrow the situation will be back to normal. don’t know what is happening but we are on top of the situation,” he said.

Ahmed assured that there was enough fuel and, therefore, appealed to members of the public to avoid panic-buying as all efforts were being made to resolve shortage in some filling stations in Lagos and its environs.

The National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mike Osatuyi, attributed the scarcity to unsteady supply in the past few days.

Osatuyi told NAN that as a result of the unsteady supply, depots prices had risen from N165 to N177 and N178 per litre in Apapa and its environs.

“The marketers will only sell what they buy. If the price of petrol increases, we add our transportation cost and other charges to the selling price,” he said.

He appealed to the NNPC and the NMDPRA to supply enough petrol across the country to ease scarcity.

Queues are beginning to build in some filling stations in within Lagos.

It also stated that international oil companies were massively shifting focus to alternative fuels, as the threat posed by the push for renewables was seriously gaining momentum.

The government disclosed this through its Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority at the opening ceremony of the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Industry HSE Managers’ Forum in Abuja.

The Chief Executive, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, who was represented by the agency’s Executive Director, Hydrocarbon Processing Plants, Installations and Transportation Infrastructure, Francis Ogaree, urged operators in the oil sector to try and move along with the changes in industry globally.

He said the number of crude oil buyers from Nigeria had been decreasing, stressing that Nigeria must build its oil and gas sector collectively for it to survive the changes in the space.

Ahmed said, “As we speak, some of the big IOCs are funding gigantic research in alternative fuels.

“As sweet as Nigeria’s crude is renowned to be globally, we have recently lost our most valued customers and our gas buyers are themselves now competing with us in the same market place as suppliers.

“All of these point to one fact; if Nigeria is to continue to benefit from its vast petroleum resources, now more than ever is the time to build sustainably into our oil and gas value chain, as well as management of its waste. And this rests on the shoulders of not only the regulators, but on all stakeholders.”

He noted that the oil and gas industry had for several decades maintained a pride of place at the top of the global energy mix despite the threat posed by renewables and cleaner energy sources.

“However, recent concerns about global warming, exponential improvement in the efficiency of renewable energy alternatives and the policies of oil pricing, have combined to pose almost an existential threat to the global petroleum industry,” he stated.

The NMDPRA boss added, “The threats of renewable energy sources, which in the past were almost dismissed by energy industry experts, have today become more real than ever.

“And I will like to draw your attention to a few of the more recent trends. Three among the biggest technology companies have made attempts at electric cars to replace gasoline and diesel engines.

“While the attempt of Apple may not have made it to production yet, and that of Google was suspended after clearly successful street trials, that of Tesla took the world by surprise.”

Ahmed noted that not only did the first two releases of Tesla out-performed sales forecast, they were also oversubscribed and the demand kept rising, while new models were being added.