Author: oilpriceng

The price of Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel, has risen to a high of N250 per litre, with businesses taking a beating on the back of rising energy costs.

Our correspondent observed that some filling stations in Lagos had increased the price of the product to N250 per litre, while many others sold it at between N220-N245.

Northwest Petroleum along the Oshodi-Apapa road increased the pump price of diesel to N250 per litre; AP (Ardova Plc), along Airport road, Ikeja, N248; and Oando, along Acme Road, N240.

The National Bureau of Statistics, in its AGO price report on Tuesday, said the average price paid by consumers for diesel increased by 0.22 per cent to N224.86 per litre in January 2021 from to N224.37 in December 2020.

It said states with the highest average price of diesel were Adamawa (N268.33), Zamfara (N262.78) and Kebbi (N257.50).

“States with the lowest average price of diesel were Osun (N194.60), Anambra (N195.83) and Enugu (N198.24),” the NBS added.

Crude oil price accounts for a large chunk of the final cost of petroleum products, and the deregulation of the downstream oil sector by the Federal Government means that the pump prices of the products will reflect changes in the international oil market.

The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, has risen by more than 25 per cent this year from the $51.22 per barrel at which it closed last year. It rose to $65.25 per barrel as of 6:30pm Nigerian time on Tuesday.

Diesel is mostly used by businesses to power their generators amid a lack of reliable power supply from the national grid.

The President, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, Mr Femi Egbesola, lamented that the recent increase in the price of diesel was taking a heavy toll on businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises.

“The cost of diesel and raw material is giving us a nightmare. The price of diesel has been skyrocketing in a way that creates fear in particularly manufacturers,” he told our correspondent on Tuesday.

According to him, it is difficult for businesses to factor all the increase in diesel price in their final product prices.

Egbesola said, “That is why a lot of companies are downsizing and are making sure that they only produce products that they are so sure will sell in the market.‌

“Many companies have reduced their product lines significantly just to be able to cope. And that is not good for us because by the time this goes on, unemployment will increase. I believe government should be able to do something about this.”

He said although the downstream petroleum sector had been deregulated, there should be checks and balances.

Egbesola said many small businesses’ savings had been eroded already because ‘we keep spending our savings to make sure we don’t close shop’.

He said, “If things continue this way, there is no way we are not going to close shop. We are still struggling with the recent increase in electricity tariff.

“Many small businesses still depend so much on diesel generators because there is no alternative power supply. It is only the big players that have the facilities to use gas. And we cannot use solar installation because it is very expensive.”

Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, relies largely on importation for petrol and other refined products as its refineries have remained in a state of disrepair for many years.

Copyright PUNCH.

Brent Oil jumped towards $67 a barrel Tuesday with investment banks and traders predicting the market will tighten further and push prices higher. Futures in New York jumped 1.6% on Tuesday after climbing more than 4% in the previous session. The market is heading toward what could be the tightest quarter since at least 2000

Source: Business Day

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has assured Nigerians that there is no plan to increase the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol in the month of February 2021.

This comes after the reported rumour of plans to increase the price of petrol due to the continuous rise in the price of crude oil in the international market and the reported hoarding of the product by some depot owners and marketers.

NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru who reacted to speculation of petrol selling above the official N162 per litre, said that there was no imminent upward review. 

Obateru also assured that the corporation had enough stockpile of petrol to keep the nation well supplied for about 40 days. 

He urged petroleum products marketers not to engage in the hoarding of PMS in order not to create artificial scarcity and unnecessary hardship for Nigerians.

He said;  

“NNPC has not increased its ex-depot price. I am certain that NNPC is not likely to increase its ex-depot price in February.

“We have sufficiency for almost forty something days. If people are hoarding or increasing their prices that one is for the DPR to look into.”

source: https://www.oilandgasgoodness.com/post/nnpc-says-no-plan-to-increase-fuel-price-in-february

The subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, may have gulped at least N11.20bn in one week as the rise in global oil prices pushed up the landing cost of the product.

On February 5, when oil price neared $60 per barrel, the expected open market price of petrol rose to over N200 per litre, based on the petrol pricing template of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency.

The product is currently being sold at between N160 and N165 per litre at many filling stations in Lagos.

Using an expected open market price of N190 per litre of petrol and an average current pump price of N162 per litre indicates a subsidy of N28 per litre.

With a daily petrol consumption of about 57 million litres and a subsidy of N28 per litre, it means subsidy gulped N1.60bn in a day and N11.20bn in a week (February 5 to 12).

The PUNCH had reported last week that the landing cost of petrol rose to N179.67 per litre on February 5 from N158.53 per litre on January 7, with the expected open market price (pump price) of the product increasing to N202.67 per litre from N181.53 per litre.

Crude oil price accounts for a large chunk of the final cost of petrol, and the deregulation of petrol price by the Federal Government last year means that the pump price of the product will reflect changes in the international oil market.

The rising price of crude oil pushed the cost of petrol quoted on Platts to $543.25 per metric tonne (N157.99 per litre, using N390/$1) last Friday from $480.25 per MT (N139.67 per litre) on January 7.

The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, extended its rally on Monday, rising by $0.88 to $63.31 per barrel as of 7:10pm Nigerian time.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, which  has been the sole importer of petrol into the country in recent years, is still being relied upon by marketers for the supply of the product despite the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said last week that Nigerians should prepare for the pain associated with the increase in crude oil price.

According to him, as desirable as the increase in oil price is, it has serious consequences as well on petroleum product prices.

“So we want to take the pleasure and we should as a country be ready to take the pain. Today, the NNPC is taking a big hit from this. We all know that there is no provision in the budget for subsidy. So, somewhere down the line, I believe that the NNPC cannot continue to take this blow. There is no way because there is no provision for it.”

“As a country, let us take the benefits of the higher crude oil prices and I hope we will also be ready to take a little pain on the side of higher product prices.”

The NNPC said in its latest monthly report that to ensure continuous increased PMS supply and effective distribution across the country, a total of 1.72 billion litres of PMS, translating to 57.44 million litres per day were supplied in November.

The corporation said it had continued to diligently monitor the daily stock of PMS to achieve smooth distribution of petroleum products and zero fuel queue across the nation.

Source: Punch