- Details DSS to follow marketers in new arrangement
Chineme Okafor in Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) monday disclosed its initiation of fresh elaborate measures to sustain supply of petrol, diesel and kerosene across the country to forestall possible scarcity of the products.
It said in a statement from its Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, in Abuja, that the measures would include an increase of the February supply of petrol by six additional cargoes to the existing national petrol sufficiency of over 32 days, immediate importation of three additional cargoes of diesel before the end of February, and an order for massive 250 trucks per day loading of diesel and kerosene from its refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri.
The corporation equally noted that it would convert an existing $144 million foreign exchange intervention issued for petrol to take care of supplies of diesel.
According to the statement, these were agreed in an emergency meeting on the corporation’s downstream operations which was chaired by its acting Group Managing Director, Saidu Mohammed, who is also the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power Companies of the NNPC.
Based on this, the NNPC said it would transmit the full list of marketers involved in off-taking diesel and kerosene to the Department of State Services (DSS) for appropriate follow-up by the security agency to forestall the possibility of supplies and distribution foul play by the marketers.
Mohammed said in the statement that the move to provide additional petrol cargoes of 37,000 tonnes each was to give further comfort and stability to what he said was a robust petrol sufficiency nationwide.
Other measure the corporation equally took was to expand daily truck load-out of petrol, diesel and kerosene, even during weekends to ensure improved products delivery to the hinterland.
It explained that it would provide additional marine logistics, all geared toward improving products movements from offshore to land, to cater for this additional petrol supply nationwide.
Mohammed charged downstream operators to immediately implement measures that would sustain adequate supply and distribution of petrol, diesel and kerosene to every nook and cranny of the country, and that the NNPC has made concerted efforts to pay the outstanding bill owed its trading arm, Duke Oil, for products importation.
It added that as part of these measures, it plans to obtain from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a foreign exchange intervention for diesel to enable marketers import the product as well as for the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Associations (DAPPMAN).
It said it had also developed a comprehensive and clear deadline for the completion of the Atlas Cove-Mosimi pipeline and commenced shipment of diesel to Calabar. The corporation thus called on motorists and consumers of petroleum products across the country to avoid engaging in panic buying of products because it has over 32 days sufficiency for petrol, and adequate volumes of diesel and kerosene to meet their demand.
