FG Revokes Petrol Import Licenses, Unveils New Regulations as NNPC Crashes Prices for Marketers
- The Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has issued new petrol import licensing guidelines
- The NMDPRA stated that former guidelines operated by the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) have been revoked
- The agency disclosed that the new regulations also outline fines and penalties for violations of the regulations
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
The Nigerian government, via the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), has unveiled new regulations to simplify petrol import licensing and other operational rules in the industry and distilled them into a single document.
The NMDPRA stated that former guidelines regarding midstream and downstream operations operated by the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) have become obsolete and revoked.
Source: Twitter
FG to publish new guidelines soon
The proposed 2024 NMDPRA operations will allow the regulator to reduce the complexities of navigating and implementing numerous regulations in the petroleum sector.
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NMDPRA chief executive Farouk Ahmed said at a stakeholder engagement on the proposed operations rules on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, in Abuja that the move aligns with Section 216 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which mandates consultation with stakeholders before the finalisation of the regulations.
The NMDRA boss said the proposed regulations would consolidate 12 of the agency’s earlier gazetted regulations.
According to him, the regulations would be read alongside other rules by the agency, including the midstream and downstream petroleum fees regulations, which allow for prescribed fees for these activities.
New guideline stipulates fines and penalties
Energy experts believe the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Fees Regulations will soon be published in the Federal Government Gazette.
Punch reports that the agency’s legal adviser, Joseph Tolorunse, said the regulation's objective was to consolidate all 16 drafted regulations and streamline them for ease of reference.
Tolorunse said that the authority discovered that having many regulations would burden the industry.
He added that the regulations also outline fines and penalties for rules violations.
Oil marketers move to import petrol
Oil marketers disclosed that the volume of petrol produced by the Dangote Refinery cannot meet domestic demand.
As a result of the development, marketers plan to import the product to make up for the supply from the refinery’s shortfall.
TUC calls on Dangote refinery to ramp up production
The marketers agreed with the Trade Union Congress to ask that the facility ramp production, with some saying that the refinery produced about 10 million litres of petrol daily against the promised 25 million litres.
According to reports, on September 15, 2024, when the plant commenced the release of petrol marketers, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) was supposed to load 16.8 million litres of petrol from the refinery.
The 16.8 million litres contrasts with the 25 million the plant said it would release to the NNPC daily.
NNPC sells petrol to marketers at new
Legit.ng earlier reported that the NNPC had agreed to sell petrol to Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) members at N995 per litre.
The development came amid the Department of State Services intervention in the face-off between the marketers and the state oil firm.
Hammed Fashola, IPMAN’s national vice president, disclosed that the DSS intervention solved several marketers' problems.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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