Fuel Crisis: NNPC releases distribution details of 387.5m litres of petrol to retail outlets

*The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited discloses the petrol distributed through retail filling stations from February 14 to February 20, 2022, represents an average daily distribution of 55.4 million litres across the country

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

As the scarcity occasioned by the withdrawal of the imported ‘methanol-blended’ petrol gradually eases off, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has released details of how the company distributed a total of 387.59million litres of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, within a week to bridge the fuel supply gap across the West African country.

ConsumerConnect reports the national oil company, in regard to transparency and accountability in resolving the distressing energy crisis in the past weeks, disclosed that the petrol distributed through retail filling stations from February 14 to February 20, 2022, represented an average daily distribution of 55.4 million litres.

Further analysis of the NNPC weekly national evacuation report released Wednesday, February 23 indicated that 80 percent of all the PMS took place at 20 high-loading depots, while 20 percent occurred at the other loading depots in Nigeria.

According to the company, the top 20 high loading depots used are Pinnacle-Lekki which evacuated the highest volume of 70.8 million litres; NIPCO (22.6 million litres), AITEO (22.3 million litres), Swift (16 million litres), 11 PLC (15.9 million litres), Bovas Bulk (15 million litres) and Frado (14.6 million litres).

The NNPC also noted others are Keonamex (13.7 million litres), MRS Ltd (11.9 million litres), Rainoil (11.6 million litres), AYM Shafa (11.2 million litres), TSL (11.2 million litres), Rainoil Lagos (11.2 million litres), and Matrix (10 million litres), Conoil Lagos (9.7 million litres), AA Rano (8.8 million litres), Bluefin (8.4 million litres), HOGL (8.2 million litres), Ibafon Calabar (8 million litres) and Mainland (7.5 million litres).

With the distribution of 385.59 million litres in one week, scarcity of petrol was gradually arrested, with queues drastically reduced at filling stations in Abuja, Lagos, and other major cities, as selling outlets that had been shut for over a week due to supply gap opened for operations last Sunday.

It was gathered that in Abuja, retail outlets in the satellite towns, such as Bwari, Lugbe, Kubwa, Zuba, Kuje, and others hitherto experiencing product shortage were seen dispensing petrol to motorists Sunday, February 20.

Recall the NNPC earlier, had stated that the ‘methanol-blended’ petrol was imported into the country by four oil marketers through four Premium Motor Spirit cargoes under the NNPC’s Direct Sales Direct Purchase arrangement.

According to the national oil firm, the four companies that supplied the ‘methanol-blended petrol are MRS Oil, which made the importation through a vessel named MT Bow Pioneer; Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium through vessel identified as MT Tom Hilde; Oando through a vessel named MT Elka Apollon; and Duke Oil.

The product was purchased from International Trader, LITASCO, and delivered through the LITASCO loading port terminal in Antwerp in Belgium.

Amid the fuel crisis, the NNPC has promised that over 2.3 billion litres of PMS would be delivered before the end of February 2022 in a move to completely resolve petrol scarcity in the economy.