Petrol Scarcity to Last A Few Weeks More -IPMAN 

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has stated that the ongoing petrol supply challenges are expected to persist for another two weeks as issues causing the scarcity continue to linger.

Most petrol stations in Abuja are experiencing stock shortages, with only a few significant marketers selling petrol. Chief Chinedu Ukadike, IPMAN’s Public Relations Officer, said this shortage was partly due to importation bottlenecks and delays in license renewal by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Ukadike explained that out of 15,000 marketers, only 1,050 have renewed their licenses, leading to supply disruptions. He said logistics and maintenance issues in European refineries also affected petrol sourcing.

The NNPC Group CEO has assured improvement in the supply chain as vessels are expected to arrive soon. However, restoring normalcy could take up to two to three months once supply sufficiency is achieved.

Speaking to Vanguard, Ukadike said:

The situation is that there is no product. Once there is a lack of supply or inadequate supply, what you will see is scarcity, and queues will emerge at filling stations. On the part of NNPCL, which is the sole supplier of petroleum products in Nigeria, they have attributed the challenge to logistics and vessel problems.

Once there is a breach in the international supply chain, it will impact domestic supply because we depend on imports. I also have it on good authority that most of the refineries in Europe are undergoing turn around maintenance. So, sourcing petroleum products has become a bit difficult.

NNPC Group CEO has assured us that there will be improvement in the supply chain because their vessels are arriving. Once that is done, normalcy will return. This is because once the 30-day supply sufficiency is distrusted, it takes two to three months to restore it. We expect that by next week or so, NNPC should be able to restore supply, and within another week, normalcy should return”.

Marketers face difficulties renewing their licenses due to stringent requirements and a hostile environment.

NNPC has said the marketers who have not been able to renew their licences will not be allowed to remain on their portal, which has been shut for some time now. Because of this we have not been able to request new products.

At this nascent period of deregulation, you will discover that this leads to scarcity even when the product arrives. As it is now, even by their data, out of 15,000 marketers on the portal with licenses, only 1,050 renewed their licenses. And the requirement for renewal by NMDPRA is so much. Marketers are facing a hostile environment. NNPC placed a deadline of April 15, 2024, for marketers to renew their license”, IPMAN’s PRO, Ukadike, added.

He further appealed to NNPC to extend the license renewal deadline and urged NMDPRA to alleviate the scarcity by hastening the release of marketers licenses who have completed their processes.

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