“Purchasing Portal”: NNPC Offers Fresh Hope to End Petrol Scarcity and Crash Prices
- The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has said its petrol purchasing portal will soon be opened to marketers
- The company said that it shut down the portal due to a backlog of orders from marketers
- The company said it will soon reopen the portal for marketers to place new orders to lift petrol
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has disclosed that its purchasing portal will reopen immediately after the backlog of petrol orders is cleared.
Oil marketers said that shutting down the portal encourages round-tripping of products while driving up prices.
Source: Facebook
NNPC makes strong promises
However, a statement by the NNPC’s chief corporate communications officer, Olufemi Soneye, disclosed that the company has an enormous backlog of orders from oil marketers to address, stating that the portal shutdown is meant to prevent the firm from holding marketers’ funds for a long time.
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
Vanguard reports that the NNPC spokesman said the portal would be reopened after the NNPC clears the backlog.
The development comes as the national oil firm disclosed on Thursday, September 5, 2024, that it was working hard to resolve Nigeria's current petrol scarcity.
NNPC’s vice president of Downstream Operations, Dapo Segun, blamed the shortages on forex liquidity, distribution challenges, and the need to balance imports with existing debts.
No date yet to end scarcity
He did not provide a specific date for ending the petrol scarcity, which has caused long queues at filling stations.
He disclosed this during an interview on Arise Television, stating that the company faces challenges in distributing fuel efficiently due to FX scarcity.
He disclosed that the company’s mounting debts add to the challenges, insisting that NNPC has a good business relationship with all its foreign customers.
NNPC supplies 30 million barrels of crude to Dangote
According to ThisDay, the NNPC has supplied the Dangote Petroleum Refinery with 30 million barrels of crude oil in the past, with 17.6 million barrels to be made available in the coming months.
He cited section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which states that unrestricted market conditions should determine prices.
On another television programme, he explained that the company was waiting for the September 15 deadline given by the Dangote Refinery to commence product lifting.
NNPC clears marketers to lift Dangote petrol
Legit.ng earlier reported that following the statement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that it is not the only off-taker for Dangote and other local refineries, independent marketers are now free to lift petrol directly from Dangote refinery.
The Dangote Refinery launched its petrol into the Nigerian market on September 3, 2024.
Still, marketers have been unable to lift the product from the 650,000bdp-capacity refinery as talks between the refinery management and the NNPC are ongoing.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!
Source: Legit.ng
