Barring any last-minute changes, marketers and retailers of petroleum products are set to commence lifting Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, from the Port Harcourt Refining Company this week.
The Publicity Secretary of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Joseph Obele, revealed this during an exclusive interview with The Punch.
Since the refinery resumed operations in November, it has been supplying fuel exclusively to retail outlets owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). Although marketers still source fuel from the NNPCL, Obele clarified that the products currently being sold are imported.
Obele raised concerns about price disparities, stating that the NNPCL sells PMS to retailers in Port Harcourt at a higher price compared to Lagos. He appealed for the refinery to sell at ₦899 per litre, similar to Lagos, instead of the current ₦970 per litre.
“NNPC is still asking us to buy at a rate different from what they offer in Lagos due to logistics. Retail outlet owners in Port Harcourt are not comfortable with this disparity. This is why we hope the Port Harcourt refinery will start servicing us this week,” Obele stated.
He added, “We are requesting that the rate NNPC sells to Lagos marketers should be the same rate offered to us in Port Harcourt. The difference is significant, and we are appealing for uniformity.”
Obele confirmed that marketers in Port Harcourt have not yet started buying directly from the refinery but indicated that this would commence within the week. He explained that current supplies are limited to NNPCL retail outlets.
In response to whether the NNPCL still imports fuel to Lagos, Obele confirmed that the stocks in Lagos are imported. The NNPCL, after multiple delays, announced in November that the old Port Harcourt refinery, with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, had resumed operations. Rehabilitation of the new Port Harcourt refinery, which boasts a 150,000 barrels-per-day capacity, is ongoing and nearing completion.
NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye also confirmed that the refinery currently produces naphtha, which is blended to produce petrol. Marketers and stakeholders await further developments as the Port Harcourt refinery transitions to broader servicing of independent retail outlets.
