The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has urged the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, to review recently issued petrol import licences, arguing that imported fuel is now significantly more expensive than locally refined products.
The association’s position comes as the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria, MEMAN, reported a sharp increase in petrol landing costs.
MEMAN had claimed that the landing cost of petrol rose to N1,190.96 per litre as of July 16, while the 7-day and 30-day averages stood at N1,155.45 and N1,070.66 per litre respectively.
It also attributed the increase to the weakening naira and rising global crude oil prices.
The association claimed that the naira averaged N1,380.51 to the dollar during the period under review, while Brent crude climbed to an average of $81.08 per barrel.
However, IPMAN National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike in a reaction, said the independent marketers were concerned that some importers were selling petrol at about N1,350 per litre, a price far above that offered by Dangote Refinery.
He questioned the purpose of granting import licences when imported fuel costs more than locally refined products.
Ukadike argued that imported petrol currently costs about 20 per cent more than fuel supplied by Dangote Refinery, making the arrangement uneconomical and placing additional pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves and the naira.
He called on the Federal Government and regulators to support local refining, particularly Dangote Refinery and government owned refineries, to ensure energy security, stable supply and more affordable fuel prices. According to him, local refining has helped eliminate the prolonged fuel shortages that were common when Nigeria relied heavily on imports.
IPMAN further urged the government to address pricing challenges in the downstream sector and prioritise domestic production over imports, stressing that strengthening local refining capacity could also create opportunities for petroleum exports and additional foreign exchange earnings.
