NNPC announces measures to sustain products supply nationwide

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced measures to sustain the supply of petrol, diesel, and kerosene nationwide.

Mr Ndu Ughamadu, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC said in a statement in Abuja on Monday that the decision was taken at an emergency meeting on the corporation’s downstream operations.

“These measures include: increasing the February supply of petrol by six additional cargoes to the existing national petrol sufficiency of over 32 days. “An immediate importation of three additional diesel cargoes before the end of February.

“And an order for massive 250 trucks per day loading of diesel and Kerosene from across the three NNPC refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri,’’ Ughamadu said.

Ughamadu said NNPC would transmit the full list of marketers involved in off-taking diesel and kerosene to the Department of State Services.

“This will allow for appropriate follow-up by the security agency to forestall possibility of any stakeholders engaging in foul play.

“The move to provide additional petrol cargoes of 37,000 tonnes each is to give further comfort and stability to the robust petrol sufficiency nationwide,’’ Ughamadu said.

He said other measures the corporation had taken was an expansion of daily truck load-out of petrol, diesel and kerosene, even during weekends to ensure improved products delivery to hinterlands.

“The corporation would provide additional marine logistics, all geared toward improving products movements from offshore to land, to cater for additional PMS supply nationwide,”he said.

Ughamadu charged downstream operators to immediately implement measures that would sustain adequate supply and distribution of petrol, diesel and kerosene to every nook and cranny of the country.

“NNPC has also made concerted efforts to pay the outstanding bill owed Duke Oil, the corporation’s trading arm, for products importation, even as it has put in place modalities for transparent accounting practice,’’ he said.

He said that as part of measures to sustain products supply stability across the country, NNPC planned to obtain from the Central Bank of Nigeria, a diesel Foreign Exchange (Forex) intervention to marketers, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Associations.

He also said the corporation would convert the existing issued 144million dollars petrol Forex intervention to AGO (kerosene).

Ughamadu said that NNPC had also developed a comprehensive and clear deadline for the completion of the Atlas Cove-Mosimi pipeline and commenced shipment of diesel to Calabar.