Nigerians spend N3.88bn on petrol daily —PPMC Nigerians currently spend over N3.88bn on Premium Motor Spirit (otherwise called petrol) on a daily basis. This is hinged on a 40 million litres per day average consumption of the product, according to figures from the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company. The PPMC is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation that provides customer services by transporting crude oil to the refineries and moving white petroleum products to the existing and future markets through a network of pipelines and depots. At a N97 per litre prevailing retail price and average daily consumption of 40 million litres of PMS, Nigerians could be said to be spending a total of N3.88bn daily on the product. The volume of PMS locally refined is also put at 5.10 million litres per day, according to PPMC. Meanwhile, the Managing Director of PPMC, Mr. Haruna Momoh, at the recently concluded Oil Trading and Logistics expo in Lagos said there were ample opportunities across the value chain of the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas sector He said natural gas was also adding new industrial opportunities and new value chain, and Nigeria had the potential to transform its economy if stakeholders (local and International) could leverage on the opportunities. According to him, Nigeria will in the future become a major gas nation and a hub for bunkers in the West African sub-region. The Federal Government had, in January this year, given a go-ahead for the resuscitation of oil bunkering operations in the nation’s territorial waters. According to experts, bunkering is like running a gas station on the sea. It provides fuel such as marine diesel, low pour fuel oil, lubricants and others to vessels operating in the country’s territorial waters. Sometimes, bunkering companies also provide fresh water to vessels on the sea. The Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Mr. George Osahon, had than informed stakeholders of President Goodluck Jonathan’s approval for the return of bunkering operators to the nation’s territorial waters. The proliferation of illegal bunkering activities, which became rampant at a time, had made the Federal Government to suspend bunkering operations in Nigerian territorial waters pending a review of the policy. The DPR boss had also said the resumption of bunkering operations in the country would generate revenue for the government and create employment opportunities that would buoy the economy. From January to date, the position of the PPMC, however, shows that some investment opportunities in the business had not been well explored by Nigerians. Momoh said there were investment opportunities for the provision of bunkering vessels/barges; mooring services; and onshore handling and storage facilities for bunker fuels. According to him, other areas where business opportunities abound were in the supply of ship stores/services; garbage and bilge removal from ships; and fresh water supplies. The PPMC also revealed that almost 80 per cent of the 5,120 kilometre pipeline network for product distribution had been vandalised. “There is increased difficulty in distributing products through existing pipelines due to pipeline vandalism and rupture due to aging; and also insecurity of pipelines to transport crude to existing refineries because of pipeline vandals,” Momoh explained. Also commenting on the future of petroleum products supply, the Director, Centre for Gas, Refining and Petrochemicals at the Institute of Petroleum Studies in the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Godwin Igwe, said the non-functional state and low capacity utilisation of refineries in Nigeria were resulting in inadequate supply from local refineries. The existing four local refineries (445,000 barrels per day capacity), he said, only contributed about four to 20 per cent in the past five years to the national PMS consumption. Igwe said, “The increasing annual subsidy burden remains unsustainable. Over N2tn was expended on products subsidy in 2011 alone. This is 55 per cent more than the 2011 Capital Budget Expenditure. However, fuel subsidies are not reaching intended beneficiaries, that is, higher income households consume more quantities of petroleum products than lower income households.”
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 18:10:28 +0000
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