The price of Petrol has increased to about N617 per litre in the nation’s capital, Nigerian Tribune can confirm.
Our reporter visited at least five filling stations along Airport express road in Abuja; their pumps have since been adjusted to reflect the new price of N617.
The stations visited were Danmarna, Optima, NNPCL, Conoil, Mobil and Shafa.
Meanwhile, up until 2 pm on Tuesday, Shafa filling station was still selling products at N540/ litre leading to slight queues.
Reacting to the development, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Spokesperson, Garba Deen Muhammad told the Nigerian Tribune that the price was determined by market forces in line with the realities of a deregulated market.
According to him, the new price is not unconnected from the recent increase in crude oil prices at the international market.
Also, he said the exchange rate was also a factor that contributed to the increase, noting that the price will not be static as it may either decrease or increase.
On the possible time frame for the Dangote refinery project to commence production, he said this could best be answered by the company.
He said although it has a 20 percent stake in the refinery, it will only be supplying 300,000 barrels of Nigerian crude to the Refinery.
On his part, an Energy expert, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju in his contribution, stressed the need for the Federal Government (FG) to provide adequate explanation to Nigerians on the various processes that determine price.
“I think the government should come out and explain to Nigerians what is going on. They can’t afford to allow other narratives to take over.
“There should be somebody speaking out, explaining to Nigerians what is happening and begin to get these palliatives out,” he said.
He said the increase or decrease of prices of crude at the international market is a mixed feeling stating that when prices are high, “it is good news for Nigeria because it is an opportunity to earn more money while we have to pay more”.
However, he said a fall in crude oil prices will amount to Nigerians paying less for petrol.
He noted that:” Eventually when we pass this stage and we have domestic refineries there will an extent to which these international market prices will affect us. And The reality still remains that we have deregulated, price cannot remain the same again.”
Meanwhile, since May 2023, Brent crude benchmark price surpassed $80 per barrel suggesting an increase in demand.
Saudi Arabia had from June 2023 also agreed to cut its output by 1 million barrels per day to firm up
oil prices.
Efforts to get the Nigerian Midstream, Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Spokesperson, Apollo Kimchi to react to the development proved abortive.
But, the Authority Chief Executive (ACE), Engr Farouk Ahmed, had recently stressed that under the liberalized market, market forces are now allowed to dictate prices.
“We put the regulation in place, we make sure quality control is complied with, we make sure the product is there and we give license to a prospective importer.
“The market is now open for everybody that wants to import as far as they meet all the requirements. So, it is not about the NNPC alone
”For everybody in the sector, we make sure we guide their operations whether at the depot or wherever the product is but we will not put a cap to say this is what the price must be. As far as we are concerned in the NMDPRA, this is not like before when the PPPRA fixes the price. In a deregulated market, it is the market force that dictates the price.”
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