National petroleum consumption: NNPC doubts 102 million litres figure recorded in May

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has expressed doubts over the national petroleum products consumption which shot up to 102 million litres in the month of May.

This was even as the Corporation in a bid to tackle petroleum product smuggling and crude oil theft, partnered with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other relevant downstream and upstream stakeholders in the petroleum industry.

The GMD who spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, said it was obvious to all that the volume of premium motor spirit (PMS) was not consumed by Nigerians alone.

“We all know that our daily consumption is not up to 60million litres. We all know that, and that is why we have to pull it down. We will pull it down by every means necessary,” Kyari stressed.

To this end, he urged all industry stakeholders to collaborate with the Corporation to ensure that the daily national petroleum products consumption which shot up in May, is brought down to realistic levels of around 60 million litres.

On the partnership, he said this became imperative as the menaces were negatively impacting the nation’s economy.

He said the move was at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari who mandated the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the NNPC, the EFCC and all other security agencies to address crude oil theft and illicit truck-out of petroleum products which he described as major economic crimes that have hindered Nigerians from enjoying the benefit of subsidised petroleum products.

“We all agree that smuggling is not a business that should be condoned because even for deregulated petroleum products it brings extra cost burden on this country both in terms of safety and security of supply and in securing of foreign exchange.

“It even constitutes more burden to this country when the product involved is a regulated product like Premium Motor Spirit (PMS),” Kyari submitted.

The GMD explained that with the increasing price of crude oil at the global market and the OPEC+ production cuts, the country cannot afford to shoulder the cost of smuggling.

He said NNPC would put in place the Advanced Cargo Declaration in line with global best practices to tackle the issue of crude oil theft in the country.

Similarly, the Executive Chairman of EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, expressed the readiness of the Commission to work with the NNPC to ensure that those involved in the economic sabotage were brought to book.

The Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMA), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) and all the other stakeholders also expressed readiness to partner the NNPC to bring an end to petroleum products smuggling.

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National petroleum consumption: NNPC doubts 102 million litres figure recorded in May