Following the full deregulation of the downstream sector, three major oil marketers have revealed that their 141 million litre of imported Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol will arrive in Nigeria this week.
The continuous importation of fuel into the country will break the monopoly of the industry by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
According to Punch Newspaper, a major marketer confirmed that the deregulation of the downstream sector had fully set in, stressing that three dealers are expecting their products (PMS) this week.
The marketer stated that each vessel would bring in about 35,000 metric tonnes of PMS, meaning the three dealers expect about 105,000 metric tonnes of PMS this week. Going by the conversion rate of 1,341 litres to one metric tonne, the marketers are bringing in about 141 million litres of petrol.
The marketer said, “Most marketers often import three parcels for this kind of transaction and the lowest parcel is about 35,000 metric tonnes of PMS. Now, because of how the business is run, you see marketers bringing in between two and three parcels. This week, we expect about three marketers to bring in products. However, some of these imports are not cast in stone in the sense that the influence of many regulatory authorities is still there. So it is not that you will just go and bring in products and then start selling them. The regulators, such as the NMDPRA, have to look at the quality, flash points and so many other things that should be taken into consideration before the product comes in. And when it lands, they will take samples and check them in their labs.”
When contacted, the spokesperson of the NMDPRA, George Ene-Ita, said marketers with approved import licenses were free to import PMS, but stressed that the products must be subjected to three major tests by the agency.
His words, “The products must be subjected to our testing protocols at the ports. The products must conform to stipulated standards before we authorise them to offload to their terminals. Also, before the smaller vessels bring it further inland to Nigeria our people will fly to the place to see the product and carryout some tests to ensure the right specification is upheld. Tests are also done at the products’ origins. And when the products come in, before they are released to the market, further tests would be conducted to ensure that they meet the specifications.”
