The management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Thursday raised hopes of an end to the lingering fuel supply crisis in Nigeria.The Managing Director of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company, Haruna Momoh, said at the moment the company had a minimum of 27 days fuel supply sufficiency level.
He, however, assured that the recent supply crisis would be resolved completely soon when the on-going rehabilitation and turnaround maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited is completed in July 2015.
Mr. Momoh said when the repairs are completed the facility would run at a minimum of 80 per cent of installed operational capacity, refining and supplying about 5million litres of petrol daily.
The repair of the country’s four refineries has been hampered since 2012 by the refusal on more than one occasion of the original builders of the four refineries to handle the maintenance contracts.
The companies have always blamed their decision on the absence of a risk guarantee as part of the terms of their contracts.
The PPMC MD was speaking during the tour of some filling stations in Abuja by the group managing director of the NNPC, Joseph Dawha, to ascertain the situation, just as the fuel supply crisis appear to be easing gradually in the last few days.
Mr. Momoh said there is a stock level of about 1.1billion litres of petrol, excluding volumes with confirmed delivery dates within the next couple of days.
At the moment, he said the NNPC was importing about 50 per cent of the total requirement of petroleum products into the country, while the major and independent oil marketers handle the importation of the balance.
The major marketers are made up of members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria – Mobil, Total, Forte Oil, Oando, Conoil and MRS, while the independent marketers are made up of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigerian as well as the Depot & Petroleum Products Marketers Association.
During the tour, the NNPC boss assured that the Corporation would intensify efforts to ensure that products were adequately supplied from its coastal to inland depots, while pledging its commitment to work with all relevant stakeholders in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry to bring to restore normalcy soon.
The NNPC, as the supplier of last resort, he said, has improved availability of petrol in the last few days, adding that it would ensure effective distribution of the product nationwide.
Following the meeting held with fuel marketers last week, Mr. Dawha said the NNPC and its products marketing and distribution subsidiary, the PPMC, were determined to end the long fuel queues at filling stations in Abuja and across the states of the federation soon.
The NNPC GMD warned the public to desist from panic fuel buying, hoarding and patronage of black marketers, urging marketers to sustain the effort to supply and distribute petroleum products across the country.
He said the corporation through its subsidiary, NNPC Retail Limited, has lifted and supplied petrol to its mega and affiliate filling stations in Abuja and environs as well as across the federation.
“In the last five days, we have brought into Abuja 428 trucks of premium motor spirit, averaging 85 trucks daily, to address the petrol requirement in Abuja and its immediate environs,” Mr. Dawha said.
The PPMC MD decried the high level of vandalism along the system 2B pipeline system, particularly in Ije Ododo in Lagos, adding that already the situation has largely been brought under control, with the commencement of repairs on the destroyed section of the pipeline.
On his part, the Managing Director of NNPC Retail Limited, Chris Osarunmwwense, said the NNPC mega stations and affiliate stations would increase their hours of service to motorists in order to clear the queues as soon as possible.
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I pray it happen o
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