Petrol price hike and fuel scarcity update for November 15th, 2024
As Nigerians continue to express frustration over the recent fuel price hike by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Gistreel provides the latest updates on petrol scarcity, fuel price increases, and reactions from the government and citizens.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced an increase in crude oil and gas production, reaching 1.8 million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4 standard cubic feet per day (scfd), respectively. This progress was shared during a press briefing on Thursday and attributed to compliance with directives from President Bola Tinubu.
Commenting on the achievement, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, commended the Production War Room Team for leading the successful production recovery efforts.
“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms, acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we have from the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari said.
Petrol Hike
Giving details of the efforts of the Production War Room, the Chief War Room Coordinator and Senior Business Adviser to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawal Musa, explained that the feat was achieved through the collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Gas Marketing Limited (NGML), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has signed a Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement with Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos.
The agreement, finalized on Tuesday at the Dangote Group’s Corporate Head Office in Falomo, Lagos, is designed to ensure a consistent supply of natural gas to the Dangote Refinery for power generation and as feedstock.
The signing ceremony was attended by NGML’s Managing Director, Justin Ezeala, and the President and CEO of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.
“This major milestone is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s policy of utilising Nigeria’s abundant gas resources towards revamping the nation’s industrial growth and kickstarting its economic prosperity.
“This development, which sees a huge investment of this nature penned with zero capital expenditure outlay, has been described by many as unprecedented in the history of NGML or any gas Local Distribution Company in the country,” a statement by the NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, said on Wednesday.
According to Soneye, under the terms of the agreement, NGML will supply 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day – 50MMSCF/D being firm supply and the rest 50MMSCF/D interruptible natural gas supply to the refinery for an initial period of 10 years, with options for renewal and growth.
The Ogun State Government has debunked claims of harassment and intimidation made by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
Speaking on Thursday, the State Commissioner for Transportation, Olugbenga Dairo, explained that contrary to the allegation, a task force was set up in the petroleum industry to address fuel meter tampering and other sharp practices among operators.
He noted that the government, faced with soaring transportation costs and public outcry over fuel pricing malpractices, took a proactive approach by establishing the task force aimed at regulating and ensuring fair practices within the petroleum sector.
The commissioner disclosed that in the course of its duties, the task force observed some sharp practices by certain filling stations, including tampering with their dispensers.
Analysis of the filling stations visited, according to him, showed that at Bugatee Filling Station, Idi-Aba, there is a shortage of 0.71 litre on every 10- litre purchased, amounting to about ₦700 in losses.
