N170 a Litre Petrol Price in Nigeria is No Longer Sustainable, Says NNPC Boss

N170 a Litre Petrol Price in Nigeria is No Longer Sustainable, Says NNPC Boss

  • There are indications that Nigerians would soon start paying more money for buying fuel in the country
  • Mele Kyari says the petrol pump price of N170 per litre in Nigeria is no longer sustainable by the federal government
  • The senior oil chief also stated that market conditions have pushed the cost of landing petroleum products to about three times the value of the current price

National Assembly - Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer of Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has declared that the petrol pump price of N170 per litre in Nigeria is no longer sustainable.

The Cable newspaper reports that Kyari said this on Wednesday, November 9 while delivering a keynote address at the legislative transparency and accountability summit organised by the House of Representatives committee on anti-corruption.

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Mele Kyari
Kyari said the current realities of the market can no longer sustain the current petrol pump price. Photo credit: NNPCL
Source: Facebook

He said market conditions have pushed the cost of landing petroleum products to about three times the value of the current pump price.

His words:

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“It is not possible for you to buy fuel at N170 when your actual cost is thrice that value. For instance, today, when PMS comes into this country, we transfer to marketers at N113 per litre for us to ensure N165 at the pump.
“So, you must sell at N113 to them to be able to deliver at N165, that means whatever the cost, anything after that value; that is subsidy. Somebody has to pay for it.
“Everyone knows the price of PMS around the world. There is nowhere today that you can land a litre of PMS to the pumps at the N445 (to $1dollar) exchange rate. It is not possible.”

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The NNPCL boss also said the subsidy cost for petrol is about N290 a litre in some parts of the country.

According to Kyari, subsidy costs gulps about N19 billion a day, using the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority latest consumption figure of 66.8 million litres per day.

He said with the current subsidy on petrol, vices including document forgery and cross-border smuggling, were inevitable.

Oil theft: Why NNPC engaged private security contractors - Kyari

Meanwhile, Vanguard newspaper reports that Kyari justified the engagement of private security contractors to protect oil and gas pipelines and installations, especially in the Niger Delta, saying their efforts were yielding positive results.

Kyari further said the country could not have continued to lose over 200,000 barrels of oil through theft on daily basis.

He said thousands of illegal refineries had been destroyed, adding that the company made a discovery of over 295 illegal connections to national trunk pipelines.

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NNPCL boss, Mele Kyari, raises alarm over death threats

Oil reforms: Mele Kyari raises alarm over death threats

Legit.ng had earlier reported that Kyari raised an alarm over a series of death threats he has been getting since he embarked on oil reforms.

He said the threats have come about as a result of the series of reforms that have been implemented in the oil and gas sector, but he remains undeterred by them.

He noted that such threats are part of the sacrifices he has to make to ensure the needed change is implemented for the sector to experience progress and flourish.

NNPCL dealing with crude oil theft - Report

In recent years, Nigeria has been confronted with the challenge of identifying the perpetrators of crude oil theft and curbing the criminal act.

Crude oil theft is said to have cost Nigeria a staggering $1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2022. Oil theft, illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism have resulted in huge revenue losses to Nigeria.

It also prevents the country from benefitting from the current global oil boom, according to a Legit.ng report.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Jerrywright Ukwu avatar

Jerrywright Ukwu Jerrywright Ukwu is an Abuja-based senior political/defence correspondent. He is a graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos and the International Institute of Journalism in Abuja. He is also a member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. He spends his leisure-time reading history books. He can be reached via email at jerrywright39@yahoo.com.