FG jerks up number of petrol importers to 40

Ministry of Petroleum Resources has increased the number of petrol importers from 27 in the first quarter of the year 2014 to 40 for the second quarter.

A statement by the spokesperson of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Ohi Alegbe, on Sunday, said the move was aimed at sanitising the nation’s fuel supply and distribution channel.

The statement said: “There are 27 oil marketing companies with proven performance records enlisted in respect of Q1 deliveries. For Q2 (June only), there are 40 marketers with good performance records and whose facilities are functional. The idea of June only is to revert back to the normal quarterly sequence, i.e. JulySeptember and OctoberDecember.’’

The statement explained that the minister has approved the allocation of a total volume of 1, 854, 314 metric tonnes of premium motor spirit known as petrol as supplementary volumes for first quarters 2014 and second quarter 2014 June only delivery.

It also said that the supplementary volume for Q1 quota is 750, 000 Mt and the Q2 June only volume is 1, 104, 318. He noted that whilst the first quarter supplementary volume is designed to complement the earlier allocation in addition to covering any under delivery by marketers due to unforeseen financial challenges, the Q2 (June only) quota is in consonance with the national consumption pattern of 40 million litres per day.

It noted that the Q2 quota also captured a 23 percent upper tolerance in the event of default or slippage into July.