Prices of petroleum products high in May

Average price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, increased by 0.5 per cent month-on-month from N149.9 in April to N150.7 in May 2017.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which disclosed this in its petroleum product statistics, listed the states with the highest average price of petrol to include Gombe, N172.5; Taraba, N162.00; and Adamawa/Borno, N160.

States with the lowest average price of petrol were Abuja, Delta, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Lagos and Osun, N145.3; Ondo, N145.31) and Edo and Oyo (N145.33).

Also, average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas also known as Cooking Gas, increased by 0.75 per cent month-on-month from N2,424.38 in April 2017 to N2,446.57 in May 2017

States with the highest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for cooking gas were Gombe, N2,600; Akwa Ibom, N2,590; and Rivers; 2,585.00, where Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Ogun and Sokoto, N2,300; Ondo, N2,294.44; and Osun, N2,268.75 recorded the lowest prices.

The agency disclosed that the average price per litre paid by consumers for National Household Kerosene increased by 8.01 per cent month-on- month to N303.29 in May 2017 from N280.80 it recorded in April 2017.

States with the highest average price per litre of kerosene were Anambra, N334.52; Kwara, N323.81 and Bauchi, 321.67, while states with the lowest average price were Osun, N273.96; Oyo (N271.15; and Sokoto, N261.90.

But the average price paid by consumers for Automotive Gas Oil also known as diesel decreased by 5.65 per cent month-on-month to N216.30 in May down from N229.25 recorded a month earlier.

States with the highest average price of diesel were Adamawa, N236.67; Niger, N236.43 and Sokoto, N255.71, while those with the lowest were Gombe and Yobe, N200.00; Delta, N200.83; and Anambra, N200.56.

Speaking on why the price of PMS fluctuates, the Chief Operating Officer, Downstream, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Henry Obih, said the foreign exchange and price of product at the international market has the ability of affecting the Nigerian downstream sector.

Obih stated: “The question people should ask themselves is how did we arrive at the N145 per litre price ceiling? If you look at the price template line by line, you will see that there are a number of components in the pump price build up that not controlled by the NNPC or the market.

“There are two key variables that are totally out of the control of any player in the industry, the Platt’s quote for PMS cargoes in the international market and the foreign exchange rate which is set by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Those two key variables are out of our control and they have a huge impact on how much, ultimately, petrol lands in Nigeria and gets sold at the service station.  As an industry professional, I look at how markets work around the world and I can tell you that as liberalise or deregulate the market, the market forces will play and drive pump prices down.

“What we are going through today is because there is pressure on the pump price from forex and the price of the product at the international market.  The Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency is responsible for setting petrol prices for the market and constantly monitors developments on this front.”