It was also gathered that crude oil refiners were currently releasing refined petroleum products on credit to dealers from Nigeria, following the recent unification of the country’s exchange, which boosted the confidence of operators.

This came as the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria told our correspondent that they would compete with the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on the importation of petrol, stressing that this would crash the cost of PMS.

Before the President, Bola Tinubu, removed subsidy on petrol, the product was solely imported by NNPCL, as other marketers stopped its imports due to their inability to access the United States dollar.

At the time, oil marketers explained that the NNPCL was accessing the dollar at a lower rate, which was unfair and did not support PMS importation by other dealers.

But with the recent unification of the exchange rate, oil marketers had to join in the importation of petrol and confirmed that the products should be arriving Nigeria from next week.

Asked to state when the products being imported by major marketers would start hitting Nigeria, the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, replied, “I will simply say between the second and third week of July”

Isong, however, explained that the NNPCL had made a lot of fuel imports, as some of its vessels were still on the way to Nigeria.

“Let me say that NNPCL has imported significantly to prevent the country from running dry. The vessels NNPCL imported are offshore Nigeria, so they have a significant volume, therefore in all circumstances the country will not run dry.

“So the options everybody has is that they can buy from NNPCL ex-depots or they can go and import from Europe or from other places. The assignment is that you compare your price if you buy from NNPCL or import from Europe.

“More or less, the taste of the pudding is in the eating. So do your calculation as the best as you can. But you will only know the full impact when the product is in your tank. If it goes right, it is then that you will know how competitive your price is. The more you do it, the more efficient you become,” Isong stated.

On how marketers were sourcing of forex for imports, the MOMAN officials dealers were accessing the foreign exchange from banks and other sources.

“People access forex from different places. Just that it is easier for some people than others. Some people have strong banks, while others have other means of accessing forex. So everyone plays on their strength and ability to access forex.

“And it must be stated that the floating of the exchange rate is a plus, for instance, some people can go and get credits from their suppliers, while others have LCs (Letters of Credits), means of borrowing, etc.

But the most important thing is that there is a unified exchange rate and that makes people more confident in going to import. There is no unfair advantage, where in the past some persons have access to low exchange rates,” Isong stated.

Explaining what he meant by saying some dealers could get credit from suppliers, he said, “If you have a good relationship with your supplier, they can give you products on credit. It is a function of the relationship you have with your supplier.

Obviously, the way the market works, if you have it on credit you pay a little bit more.”

It was gathered on Saturday that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, security agencies and the downstream regulator had all agreed that petrol be sold at N195/litre.

Oil marketers said the agreement was reached at a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, as participants resolved that beginning from Monday, February 6, 2023, the pump price of petrol should not exceed N195/litre, a development which dealers, particularly independent marketers, described as tough due to the high ex-depot price of the commodity.

They told our correspondent that to avoid having their outlets sanctioned, many filling stations operated by independent marketers would be shut from Monday as it made no business sense to sell a product lower than the cost price.

This is likely to further prolong the petrol scarcity and queues in many parts of the country as independent marketers control about 80 per cent of filling stations nationwide.

IPMAN’s National President, Debo Ahmed, told our correspondent that the approved ex-depot price of petrol was recently raised from N148/litre by the NNPCL to N172/litre, but depots hardly dispense the commodity at this cost.

Ahmed, who was reacting to the notice to members issued by the Public Relations Officer, IPMAN Ibadan Depot branch, Mojeed Adesope, stated that marketers were advised to sell the product in stock now before the enforcement begins on Monday.

In the memo, which was sighted on Saturday, Adesope said, “The top management of NNPC, other relevant authorities in the downstream sector of the economy as well as all the security agents in the country met at on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 to begin the enforcement of pump price of PMS at N195/litre at all the filling stations across the country with Immediate effect.

“Towards that end, enforcement will commence effective from Monday, February 6, 2023 to enable you to dispose of all your remaining stock on or before the enforcement date.

“Members are hereby implored not to purchase products that they would not be able to dispense at N195/litre. The above information should be given wider spread/circulation in order not to get any member caught unawares. You are strongly advised to heed this information.”

Commenting on this, the national president of IPMAN said the information was in order as he urged other independent marketers to take note.

Ahmed stated, “The information is in order, because the depots that the NNPC gives products to are selling at a higher price, and IPMAN members will not like to leave their stations idle. And to avoid sanctions, it is better to close your station.

“So what is going to happen in essence is that marketers have to buy products using the NNPCL loading tickets, and if they don’t have the tickets, all they have to do is to close down their stations. You have to buy from the NNPCL in order to sell at the government regulated price.”

He said the NNPCL was the only importer and it often gave the product to DAPPMAN to sell to IPMAN members at a regulated rate.

Ahmed added, “They also give the product to MOMAN to sell through the stations of major marketers, but DAPPMAN has to sell to independent marketers because independent marketers do not have depots.

“The 21 NNPCL depots across the country that we rely on before now are all moribund and not working. So right now, we depend on DAPPMAN depots to get our products at the price approved by the NNPCL.

“But most times, DAPPMAN would increase their price and when you buy from them at such a high price, there is no way you are going to sell at a lower price. So, that memo is telling marketers that if they cannot get the NNPCL product to buy at the controlled price, they better not sell to avoid having their stations sealed.”

When asked for the approved price that the government, through the NNPCL, had asked depot owners to sell, Ahmed replied, “In fact, there is a lot of confusion.

“As of today, we are supposed to buy at N172/litre from the NNPCL designated depots run by DAPPMAN. But if you get there at times, you don’t buy at that price; rather, you buy at higher rates.

“Before it was N148/litre, but all of a sudden, the NNPCL just did what it did and increased the price to N172/litre, which was why they said the retail price should now be N185/litre.”

He explained that the N172 ex-depot price was without the cost of conveying petrol to wherever the marketer was taking the product to.

It was reliably gathered in Abuja that the meeting might lead to an upward adjustment in the pump price of petrol, as oil marketers had repeatedly blamed the persistent fuel queues in various parts of Nigeria on the unsustainable cost of PMS.

This came as the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria on Wednesday joined their counterparts in the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association to call on the government to gradually raise the price of PMS.

IPMAN and NOGASA had earlier pushed for the upward review of petrol price, as some members of IPMAN had already effected this by selling above the N165/litre government approved price.

Some of them currently dispense petrol at N180/litre and above in many states including Abuja, Lagos, Ogun, Imo, Niger, among others.

When informed on Wednesday about the demands of the various marketers groups, the General Manager, Corporate Communications Department, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, Kimchi Apollo, told our correspondent that the government was currently engaging the oil dealers.

“We are meeting them now on the various concerns, so don’t worry. By tomorrow you will know what is the outcome,” he stated.

Apollo added, “The NMDPRA is engaging them in a meeting that is ongoing, so I’ll let you know the outcome. Hopefully by tomorrow you will know the outcome of the meeting.”

Asked if the meeting was being held with just MOMAN or all oil marketers, the NMDPRA spokesperson replied, “We cannot engage only MOMAN, we are engaging all of them. We are engaging them so don’t worry. You will know the outcome later.”

The sole importer of petrol into Nigeria – the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, however, insisted that it was not a regulator of oil prices and would not comment on whether the cost of petroleum products would be raised on reduced soon.

“If you can call Shell and ask them for comments on petroleum products’ prices, then you can call us (NNPC) and ask us for such comments,” a senior official at the oil firm, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation, stated.

The source added, “We don’t have any kind of regulatory function in the sector, we are just operators now. It is the government that manages that. And based on the Petroleum Industry Act, we are no longer an appendage of government.

“The company is owned by Nigerians and the government is holding it in trust, but we don’t have any governmental role in terms of pricing, control or whatever. Although we are mandated to be the supplier of energy security, we are not a regulatory body.

“So we don’t control the price, we don’t regulate price, we have no control over any of those, as well as other similar issues.”

But the Secretary, Abuja-Suleja IPMAN, Mohammed Shuaibu, whose unit covers Abuja, Kogi, Niger and parts of Nasarawa and Kaduna, stated that though the association had informed the government about the issues in the sector, he was unaware of the meeting by the NMDPRA.

He reiterated that the cost of petrol was unsustainable at N165/litre, stressing that some filling stations in Abuja were currently dispensing the product at N185/litre, as they now purchased the commodity above N168/litre from depots.

Shuaibu also noted that the indebtedness of the government to marketers with respect to bridging claims must be settled, otherwise the strike by IPMAN members would hold soon.

“The cost of petrol at N165/litre is not sustainable. Bridging claims need to be settled and these are issues that should be addressed to avert the impending strike,” he stated.

These concerns came as the scarcity of petrol continued in Abuja and neighbouring Nasarawa and Niger states on Wednesday, as some filling stations shut their doors to customers, citing lack of products to dispense.