NNPC to import more petrol

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced plans to increase the February supply of petrol by six additional cargoes to the existing national sufficiency of over 32 days and import three additional diesel cargoes before the end of February.

The corporation also said it has placed an order for massive 250 trucks per day loading of diesel and kerosene from across the three refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri.

According to a statement by its spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu, Acting NNPC Group Managing Director, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, disclosed these measures at an emergency meeting on the corporation’s downstream operations yesterday in Abuja.

Mohammed said NNPC would transmit the full list of marketers involved in offtaking AGO and DPK to the Department of State Services (DSS) for appropriate followup to forestall possibility of any stakeholders engaging in foul play. Engr. Mohammed said the move to provide additional PMS cargoes of 37,000 tonnes each was to give further comfort and stability to the robust petrol sufficiency nationwide.

Other measure the corporation said it has taken is the expansion of daily truck load-out of petrol, diesel and kerosene, even during weekends to ensure improved products delivery to the hinterland.

NNPC said it has also made concerted efforts to pay the outstanding bill owed Duke Oil, the corporation’s trading arm, for products importation, even as it has put in place modalities for transparent accounting practice.

As part of measures to sustain products supply stability across the country, NNPC said it planned to obtain, from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), an AGO Foreign Exchange (FOREX) intervention to marketers as well as the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Associations (DAPPMAN).