There is confusion in the petrol supply chain. The regulators – Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited — appear to have lost control.
Marketers who have the product to dispense sell at arbitrary prices above the N162/N165 approved for a litre, citing the hike in ex-depot prices.
Those who shut their filling stations to consumers say they would be selling at a loss if they buy a litre from the depot at between N170/N175 and dispense at the regulated price.
The ex-depot price as fixed by the regulators stood at N148 as at last night.
Only few stations vend petrol at the regulated price. Prices ranged between N170 and N200 per litre in Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The litre price is higher in the hinterlands.
A reliable source disclosed that the marketers who had been complaining about high cost of operation were emboldened to raise the pump price rising from a meeting with the NNPC Group Managing Director (GMD), Malam Mele Kyari, last week.
In Lagos, Ogun, Abuja and in many other states, the arbitrary prices are displayed on the metres.
The source confirmed that marketers were getting supplies from the depots at N175 per litre as against the approved N148 per litre.
According to the source, this could trigger fresh hike in pump price and long queues at the retail outlets.
