New gasoline price imminent as landing cost hits N180 per liter

… NNPC meets MOMAN, IPMAN, others in Abuja

By Udeme Akpan

There were indications on Monday that stakeholders would soon emerge with a new gasoline price as the cost of landing the product rose from N151 to N180 N180 per liter, mainly due to the rise in the price of oil. gross in the international market.

The rise in the price of crude oil from $ 58 to over $ 63 per barrel yesterday resulted in additional costs incurred by refiners in the process of sourcing, refining and delivering gasoline to consumers, resulting in has also prompted marketers to incur additional costs, especially as the product is currently being imported into the country.

Nonetheless, it was concluded that the price at the pump could drop from 162 Nba to around N190 N per liter by adding trader margins and other considerations.

However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has called key marketers, independent traders and other stakeholders to a crucial meeting, which was underway at the time of writing.

Knowledgeable industry sources, who requested anonymity, said stakeholders were generally opposed to further price increases so as not to cause instability in the industry and, by extension, in the economy of the country. country, which means that the NNPC would continue to bear the burden of subsidies. the government did not provide for it in the 2021 budget.

However, speaking virtually of “After deregulation, what to do next?” in Lagos, on February 11, 2021, Mr. Adetunji Oyebanji, President of MOMAN, said: “With a totally deregulated downstream industry, the natural fear and anticipation of Nigerians is the increase in the price of transport, and economic hardship.

“The solutions to these challenges can only emanate from a collective will of all the stakeholders to face these challenges together. We must as a national debate and share pragmatic and realistic initiatives to mitigate the impact of a rise in prices at the pump that could follow a totally deregulated downstream.

“We are supporting Nigeria and Nigerians through this difficult time and backing the federal government’s pledge to pass the Oil Industry Bill, GDP this year and to completely deregulate the downstream oil sector.

“The benefit of downstream liberalization is the most visible way to grow the economy in the medium and long term. Nigeria can become the refining hub of West and Central Africa and possibly all of Africa if we stick to this path of investing in new refineries, adopting an optimization initiative. costs, create an environment that fosters competition and create a sustainable petroleum sector. These actions would lead to an increase in employment, a reduction in poverty and a reduction in social inequalities. We need to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and take full advantage of our barrels of crude, getting the maximum value it can bring to Nigeria.

“MOMAN calls for a national discourse among all stakeholders including government, workers, civil society organizations, the organized private sector and operators, not on the merits or the downsides of removing oil subsidies , but on the initiatives that can be taken to facilitate the impact of the removal of subsidies on the most vulnerable in our society. “

He also said: “The public, which includes downstream operators, are key stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

“We believe that as a country we have and must move beyond discussing the arguments for removing gasoline price subsidies. The discussion we should be having today is how to best maximize the benefits of removing price controls and subsidies while minimizing the negative effects of this action on our citizens.

Vanguard News Nigeria

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