The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Dangote Group, and retail outlet owners have reached an agreement to resolve the ongoing fuel supply crisis in Nigeria.
The outlet owners, under the aegis of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), said on Sunday that they had reached an agreement with the Nigerian Midstream-Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), NNPCL, Dangote Refinery and other stakeholders in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry on modalities to ensure uninterrupted supply and distribution of petroleum products in the country.
Other groups involved in the agreement to end the perennial crisis include the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketing Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
The national headquarters of PETROAN said in a statement on Sunday that they were happy with the roles played by the management of NNPCL, led by its group chief executive officer, Mele Kyari; the NMDPRA, led by the chief executive, Farouk Ahmed; and the president of Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote, in reaching the agreement.
They also commended the leadership of MEMAN, DAPPMAN, PETROAN, and IPMAN for reaching a resolution requiring petroleum product marketing companies to buy all their products from Dangote Refinery.
Specifically, PETROAN resolved, among other things, that Dangote Refinery must guarantee an adequate supply of products by selling a daily average of 28 million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, to oil marketers for domestic consumption for the next six months. The national president of PETROAN, while addressing newsmen at PETROAN’s headquarters in Abuja, expressed optimism that the resolutions will benefit the downstream sector and improve the Nigerian economy.
PETROAN’s national president, Dr Billy Gillis Harry, explained that the new deal was part of a resolution reached by stakeholders on the absorption of domestic petroleum product production by Nigerian oil marketing companies, including the NNPC Ltd.
Dr Harry expressed confidence that the resolution would benefit the industry so much, including stability in petroleum products supply, control of price fluctuations, maintaining transparent communication, addressing conflicts proactively and fostering collaboration among key stakeholders.
On his part, the national public relations officer of PETROAN, Dr Joseph Obele, said those that signed the resolution of the industry regulator include the NMDPRA, as well as the NNPCL, Edo Refinery, Dangote Refinery, Waltersmith Refinery, Aradel Refinery, IPMAN and Petroleum Regulatory and Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria. The spokesperson said the document showed adequate stock of Aviation Turbine Kerosene and Dual-Purpose Kerosene (or diesel) available from all domestic refineries to be supplied to the NMDPRA for the same six months and must be subject to consideration for import as may be required.
Dr Obele said it was also agreed that the NMDPRA must establish the basis for allocating import volumes to oil marketing companies on the assumptions of the aggregate of domestic refinery capacity with the understanding to cover shortfalls for respective marketers.
He pointed out that the resolution was to ensure that the domestic refineries would provide fixed quantities and delivery windows for two months preceding the month of delivery to the customer and the NMDPRA.
The other resolution was for individual oil marketing companies to enter direct commercial agreements with domestic refineries on a willing buyer, willing seller basis.
