No More Subsidy: Marketers, Refiners Canvas For Full Deregulation of Oil Industry Amid Fuel Scarcity
- The downstream oil business in Nigeria has been subject to demands for total deregulation from stakeholders
- This is an attempt to get rid of price restrictions that the government put in place because of subsidies
- According to reports, participants talked about the effects of recent rises in the price of petroleum products
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Nigerian refiners, depot owners, and petroleum marketers have demanded complete deregulation of the downstream oil industry in an effort to remove pricing limitations imposed by the government as a result of subsidies.
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This information was released during a webinar on Wednesday, September 11, by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, in partnership with the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, the Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria, the African Refiners and Distributors Association, and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria.
The Punch reported that key players from a variety of oil and gas industry sectors convened for a discussion with the theme, "Optimizing the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry", to talk about opportunities, problems, and strategic efforts aimed at improving the industry's sustainability and efficiency.
Participants discussed the ramifications of recent increases in petroleum product prices and emphasized the necessity for complete market deregulation in a communique provided to correspondents by MEMAN.
“A market-driven pricing mechanism was advocated to promote competitiveness and operational efficiency. The removal of government controls on pricing was seen as essential to fostering a more dynamic and responsive industry.
“The call for complete deregulation and market liberalisation was reiterated. The benefits include improved efficiency, enhanced product availability, and increased private sector participation,” the communique read partly.
Similarly, the need to assist regional refineries in reducing reliance on fuel imports was emphasized.
Stakeholders want deregulation in oil industry
Stakeholders demanded that refineries be allowed to process products for retail businesses and that marketers be permitted to buy crude oil from domestic and foreign suppliers.
The talks also emphasized how critical it is to switch to greener energy sources, such as liquefied petroleum gas and compressed natural gas.
A new committee structure for the petroleum industry was also proposed by the interested parties, and it was modeled after Nigeria's Bankers' Committee.
According to what was indicated, this group would feature a Midstream and Downstream Industry Coordination Committee headed by the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, which would concentrate on improving cooperation within these sectors.
They demanded the creation of an Industry Interface Committee to oversee relations between the upstream and downstream industries, as well as a Petroleum Industry Consultative Assembly, which would be presided over by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) and would include representatives from all segments of the oil and gas industry.
NNPC lists factors to end fuel scarcity
Legit.ng reported that on Thursday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) declared that it was making every effort to end the fuel shortage.
According to Executive Vice President Adedapo Segun of the downstream division, NNPCL is willing to include all parties involved in the oil industry in order to put an end to the fuel shortage.
Adedapo stated on the Arise TV Morning Show that IPMAN will continue to purchase petroleum from the Dangote refinery despite opposition from the Nigerian government.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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