THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has disclosed that it is no longer the sole supplier of petroleum products in the country. The NNPCL posted this via its verified Twitter handle on Thursday.
The announcement came after the Nigerian regulatory agency, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), had on Wednesday said petroleum marketers will from July this year start the importation of petroleum products into the country, and that it is fast-tracking the process of issuing oil marketers licenses to import petroleum products.
The agency’s Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed, who disclosed this while addressing journalists shortly after a meeting with oil marketers on Wednesday, said NNPCL was the sole importer of petroleum motor spirit (PMS) in the past.
But with the advent of the removal of subsidy on that product, Ahmed said it is necessary to open the way to other interested parties that want to import so long as they meet the requirements and the regulations of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
He explained that NNPCL had agreed to reduce its petrol import volume to give room for other players in the industry, and any marketer licensed to import petroleum products must comply with set guidelines.
Ahmed said NNPCL is going to be drawing down on their importation from being the sole importer to bringing in about 30 – 40 per cent maximum in line with the provision of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) regulation which says that nobody should exceed 40 per cent of the market share.
“The importing market is already open. We have to follow the regulations so we roll out very user-friendly policies. Some of them (marketers) have already started putting their applications in place because we don’t want to create a gap,” Ahmed said.
“We are processing licenses. Already, three oil marketers will from July this year start importing petroleum products into the country. So, these are some of the very interesting things that we have received.”
