The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Thursday said contrary to claim of unavailability of petroleum products, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has directed marketers to begin loading at Pinnacle Depot in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos.
This is coming on the heels of current repairs ongoing at the vandalised pipelines which supply products to satellite depots.
President of IPMAN, Chinedu Okoronkwo, said NNPCL had assured marketers that it had enough supplies, and was addressing the issue of pipeline vandalisation.
Okoronkwo said the issue of pipeline leaks would be addressed soon and that NNPCL had now directed marketers to begin loading at Pinnacle Depot in Ibeju Lekki in Lagos.
“NNPCL is doing something about the pipeline vandalisation and has assured that normalcy will return soon,” he said.
He said some of its members were yet to begin petrol imports due to exchange rate volatility, adding that its members were currently relying on NNPC for petrol but would soon begin importation.
Investigations revealed that some petrol stations in Lagos and Ogun states slightly adjusted their pump prices, with some selling the product at between N570 per litre and N580 per litre.
It was gathered that the landing cost from August is expected to rise further as the factors that propelled the rise in July had worsened.
Giving further insight, sources around marketers who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity, insisted that it was unprofitable to import as foreign exchange had been a major concern, while exchange rate had also continued to deteriorate.
The marketers also noted that the cost of fuel import was rising, in response to the recent rise in price of crude oil in the international market.
A transactional analysis of a major operator sighted by Vanguard, showed that marketers were paying N604.14 per litre as total direct cost.
A breakdown shows product cost per liter at N578.46, freight (Lome-Lagos) at N10.37, port charges at N7.37, NMDPRA levy of N4.47, storage cost at N2.58, Marine insurance cost at N0.47, fendering cost at N0.36 and ”others” at N0.05 as well as a finance cost amounting to N28.04.
Specifically, the transactional analysis put the landing cost of 28,000 metric tons of imported petrol at over $25 million, including total product cost, total direct cost, total finance cost, capable of generating more than N22 billion as sales revenue, indicating a loss of over N1.6 billion.
Consequently, the marketers said it would be unprofitable to import at current pump price, while the government has not guaranteed a free float of pump prices.
