Petroleum marketers in the wake of the current economic standing of the country especially as the nation’s currency, naira slipped further down against the dollar and the unavailability of Foreign exchange have agitated an increase in price of petrol.
The increase according to marketers will set the new price of petrol at N151 per liter as against the N145 fixed price.
The marketers’ agitation according to source is to forestall the looming scarcity which may hot the nation soon.
According to Punch, reports say there was a stakeholders’ meeting convened to deliberate on the issue adding that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association and Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owners representatives were in attendance.
An official at the meeting said: “Since the ex-depot price is around N133.5 per litre and the selling price is N145 litre, when you remove the ex-depot cost from the selling price, you’ll get about N12. Now, from this N12, consider the distribution margin and other costs from the depot; if all these costs are less than N12, then the marketers are making profits and there will be no complaint.
“But if the reverse is the case, then they have a complaint. I want you to find out what is the marketers’ margin, transporters’ margin, bridging fund, Petroleum Equalisation Fund, administrative charges and more. When you add all these together, you will realise that truly, the marketers are doing all they can to hold the pump price at the N145 per litre band.”
In line with this, a ministry of petroleum source said: “The issue of forex has been a challenge to both the government and the oil marketers. All of a sudden, the dollar skyrocketed to about N400 and the product we are concerned with here is an international product. So, if they are bringing in the product by buying dollar at N350, then it is obvious that they are really working hard to remain in business.
“For if we are in a truly deregulated market environment, then the price of the product should have increased beyond N145 per litre; there is no doubt about that. Meanwhile, there was a highly confidential meeting between the management of the PPPRA and stakeholders in the sector on this matter”.
The source further added: “I may not be able to tell you the resolutions that were reached concerning the issue of pricing of petroleum products, but the body language of those who participated in the meeting suggests that the government may be considering some form of concessions to the oil marketers as it did for the Muslim pilgrims. We all know that the government cannot afford to increase petrol price again, not at this time.”