The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on Sunday insisted that daily supply of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, across the country was 68 million and offered to submit itself for forensic audit of PMS supply and subsidy management.
It could be recalled that the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), said NNPC could not justify the volume of petrol being consumed in Nigeria daily to warrant the over N6.34tn subsidy payment on the commodity annually.
Ali had argued that the NNPC could not scientifically prove the 98 million litres/day consumption it was claiming, alleging that the nation’s oil company was supplying an excess of 38 million litres of PMS daily.
But in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Garba-Deen Muhammad, the oil firm stated that between January and August 2022, “the total volume of PMS imported into the country was 16.46 billion litres, which translates to an average supply of 68 million litres per day.”
It added “Similarly, import in the year 2021 was 22.35 billion litres, which translated to an average supply of 61 million litres per day.”
The company said the average daily evacuation (depot truck out) from January to August 2022 stood at 67 million litres per day as reported by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
It said daily evacuation (depot loadouts) records of the NMDPRA do carry daily oscillation ranging from as low as four million litres to as high as 100 million litres per day.
NNPC said the rising crude oil prices and PMS supply costs above NMDPRA cap had caused oil marketing companies’ withdrawal from PMS import since the fourth quarter of 2017.
“In the light of these challenges, NNPC has remained the supplier of last resort and continues to transparently report the monthly PMS cost under-recoveries to the relevant authorities,” the company stated.
On cost, it said the average international market determined landing cost in the second quarter of 2022 was “$1,283 per metric tonne and the approved marketing and distribution cost of N46/litre.”
Also, it said the combination of these cost elements “translates to retail pump price of N462/litre, an average subsidy of N297/litre and an annual estimate of N6.5tn on the assumption of 60 million litres daily PMS supply.”
The NNPC promised to ensure compliance with existing governance framework that required participation of relevant government agencies in all PMS discharge operations, including the Nigerian Ports Authority, NMDPRA, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Customs Service, NIMASA, among others.
It acknowledged the possibilities of criminal activities in the PMS supply and distribution value chain.
“As a responsible business entity, NNPC will continue to engage and work with relevant agencies of the government to curtail smuggling of PMS and contain any other criminal activities,” the oil firm said in its statement.