By Ugochukwu Onyeocha, Daily Times
April 21, 2014
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Ms. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has approved 1.85 million tonnes of petrol import allocation for two quarters, covering January to June, a statement said.
The statement was issued by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Ohi Alegbe, in Abuja on Sunday.
The statement said the minister also declared operation zero fuel queues and established structures to ensure round the clock availability of petrol across the country.
It said the minister had put in place measures to ensure full compliance with the aspiration of zero fuel queues across the country.
“Under the arrangement, the minister has approved the allocation of a total volume of 1.85 million metric tonnes of petrol as supplementary volumes for first quarters 2014 and second quarter 2014 June only delivery.
“The supplementary volume for first quarter quota is 750, 000 metric tonnes and the second quarter June only volume is 1.11million metric tonnes,” it stated.
The statement did not clearly explain why extra import was being approved for first quarter (January to March), when the second quarter of the year (April- June) had already begun.
The statement said the first quarter supplementary volume was designed to complement the earlier allocation in addition to covering any under delivery by marketers due to unforeseen financial challenges.
It said second quarter (June only) quota was in consonance with the national consumption pattern of 40 million litres per day.
It also noted that the second quarter quota also captured a 23 per cent upper tolerance in the event of default or slippage into July.
“There are 27 oil marketing companies with proven performance records enlisted in respect of Q1 deliveries.
“For Q2, there are 40 marketers with good performance records and whose facilities are functional.
“The idea of June only is to revert back to the normal quarterly sequence, i.e. July-September and October-December,’’ it said.
It said that the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, had inserted a provision in the allocation document.
It said that the provision allowed for the deduction of equivalent volume from the defaulting marketer’s subsequent allocation in event of slippage or default.
It said the ministry was working in concert with other relevant downstream operators to ensure the realisation of the zero fuel queues aspiration of the minister.
Queues for petrol are still prevalent in many filling stations across Nigeria. In some filling stations where petrol is sold, it is sold above the approved pump price of N97 per litre, sometimes as high as N130 per litre.
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