Fuel Pump Price: Differentials Set in Across Markets

• New forex regime to set appropriate pricing

Operators in oil and gas downstream sector have predicted an emergence of appropriate pricing for petroleum products, with the flexibility regime of the forex market, as introduced last week by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This prediction came on the heels of the prevailing price in many parts of the country. While many are selling bellow the maximum price of N145 stipulated by the government, others are reportedly selling more.

Investigations revealed that diesel, which sold at N120 before the partial deregulation, is now selling at between N180 and N200 per litre in some states.

The National Bureau of Statistics in its MayPMS Price Watch released Wednesday, stated that consumers bought petrol at between N162 and N165 a litre in Ebonyi, Yobe and Benue states.

The agency reported that the product sold at the official price of N145 a litre in Kaduna and Zamfara States, while it sold for N144.75 in Lagos State.

The Guardian findings showed that some independent marketers now sell petrol at between N139 to N145 in Lagos.But major marketers like Oando, Conoil, Mobil, MRS and Total were still selling at the control price of N145 per litre.

In Jos, Plateau State, PMS is sold at between N140 and N145 per litre, while Diesel is sold at between N140 and N150 per litre. It is only at NNPC Mega Station that one can be sure of buying the product at N140 per litre. The demand for diesel in the state is not as high as PMS.

The story is the same in Imo State, where Diesel still sells at N185 per litre and PMS at N145in all the stations on major streets such as Okigwe, Port Harcourt and Douglas amongothers. Marketers said they were dispensing and selling according to how they purchased the products.

While the price of PMS continued to be sold at the approved pump price of N145.00 in all filling stations in Taraba State, the reverse is the case with diesel. The product is being sold at between N150 and N160 per litre.

The price of diesel has risen steeply in Zamfara State, following the gross shortage of the product in major filling stations in the state.

Checks by The Guardian in Gusau, Zamfara State capital, indicated that some of the major filling stations, including Total, Oando, Conoil, and Ascon have not been supplied products in the past two weeks.However, the state NNPC Mega Station is selling the diesel product at N185.

A staff at one of the Total stations in Gusau said the station had not received diesel for over two weeks, despite being a top seller of the product in the state.

Some of the marketers attributed the development to the high rate of foreign exchange and the international oil price.

“The refined product is getting higher since crude oil price is going up. The situation with our exchange rate is getting worse. Marketers have to look for forex by themselves and the cost of dollar is almost N370 now,” said one of the marketers.

In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, diesel price has gone up to N185 per litre, as against the usual N145 and N125. PMSis also is sold at between N160 to N200, where available. Similarly, kerosene (DPK) is also selling at N180 per litre.

The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) have shut down most stations in the city due to ongoing strike action. The union in Rivers and Bayelsa States shut down operations to protest against the ban on unionism by four oil companies operating in the areas.

Investigations revealed that most motorists have parked their vehicles, as a result of non-availability of petrol, forcing transport fares to go up.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Integrated oil, Captain Emmanuel Ihenachor, attributed the rising price of diesel to the forces of demand and supply.

Said he: “There is no money to import diesel, just like any other product. It is the demand and supply that is responsible for what is happening to the price of diesel. People don’t have the foreign exchange to bring in the product. There is shortage of diesel and that is the simple reason for the increase in price. Whenever forex is available, people will bring it in. We just have to find a way to make forex available for people to bring the commodity into the country,”he said.

President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Okoronkwo Chinedu, expressed optimism that appropriate pricing of the products would be achieved soon with the flexibility regime for exchange rate.