Marketers have express high hope as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited; NNPCL has yesterday commenced rolling out of premium motor spirit (PMS) from the Port Harcourt Refinery. The development has made petroleum marketers to express optimism that it would deepen competition and ensure product availability and price reduction in the country soon.
Since coming of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu on board, the NNPCL has promised that the Port Harcourt refinery would commence production. This is coming exactly 11 months after the mechanical completion of the refinery was concluded and trucks has began loading of petroleum products, signalling the commencement of crude oil processing from the plant and delivery of petroleum products into the market.
It was learned that about 100 trucks had lined up to load petrol from the Port Harcourt refinery on yesterday Thursday.
The NNPCL had yesterday disclosed that it has commenced loading petroleum products which include Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) or diesel and Household Kerosene (HHK) or Kerosene, while other product slates will be dispatched as well.
Speaking during a brief ceremony to mark the commencement of products loading at the refinery in Port Harcourt, the NNPCL Group CEO, Mr. Mele Kyari, described the commencement of the load out activities as a monumental achievement for Nigeria which signifies a new era of energy independence and economic growth for the country.
Excess supply will crash price –MEMAN
The Executive Secretary of the Major Energy Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Clem Isong, in a chat with Dailytrust revealed that the association had always advocated for price competition.
He said: “We are advocating for diversification of supply, multiple supply sources and we are advocating for open market competition and price competition.
“Our advocacy is product availability, product accessibility, product affordability and price competition. That is the crux of our advocacy.”
On its part, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said it was excited about the roll out of PMS from the Port Harcourt refinery by the NNPCL.
100 trucks on queue
The National President of the Petroleum Retails Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PPROOAN), Billy Grills Harry, said that about 100 trucks had lined up at the loading bay of the Port Harcourt refinery complex to lift various types of petroleum products.
Harry, who spoke to our correspondent in Port Harcourt, said all the 18 loading bays at the refinery had been reactivated while over 100 trucks had assembled to start lifting petroleum products.
He said he was invited in his capacity as the National President of the PPROOAN to witness the resumption ceremony, adding that the development would bring an end to scarcity of petroleum products.
Only NNPC trucks loading PMS now –IPMAN
Also speaking on the development, the Chairman of IPMAN, Abubakar Maigandi, told one of our reporters that only NNPCL trucks are loading the product at the moment.
He said: “We are excited about the development but we have not been invited as of this time. We are currently getting products from the Dangote refinery.
“We currently have no information about pricing, but we will get a clearer indication as we monitor the prices at the NNPCL retail stations.”Dailytrust.
