Nigeria’s domestic consumption for petrol has significantly dropped from 66.7 million litres, before the deregulation, to 44.3 million litres per day.

Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, said that the reduction represents about 33.58 per cent daily.

Ahmed disclosed this in his keynote address at the opening session of the Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) 2023 Africa Week 2023 on Monday, October 23 in Lagos.

The NMDPRA boss said eight wholesale petroleum product suppliers out of 94 licensed oil marketers were issued permits to import into the country.

According to him, those licensed delivered eight cargoes of petrol totalling 251,000 MT (291,238,670.69 litres) between June and September.

Ahmed said that the drop in the number of licensed importers was due to the challenge of forex illiquidity which had constrained the oil marketing companies’ ability to import the product.

He expressed optimism that the necessary efforts taken by the government to improve the stability of the harmonised forex market would support the importation of petrol by more oil marketing companies alongside the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.

Ahmed said: “Supply of petroleum products is expected to be further enhanced and secured by the coming onstream of Dangote Refinery and the rehabilitation of NNPCL refineries in the short to medium term.

FEC approves draft policy on solid minerals development

“The efforts of the Nigerian government towards ensuring that the overall national energy security of the country is administered in a manner that optimises position within the complex global energy dynamics.”

Ahmed said that a critical pillar for pursuing a structured energy transition in Nigeria is the adoption of gas as a transition fuel and the emplacement of strategic gas development frameworks through the Decade of Gas Program (DOGP).

Ahmed, therefore, noted that the full deregulation of the sector had further enhanced the nation’s capacity to adopt Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a more sustainable and affordable alternative automotive fuel.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has launched the Presidential initiative on CNG (PiCNG), with the focus of providing immediate and long-lasting infrastructure for modern mass transit systems.

He stated that the PiCNG had already commenced work and adequately supported with all necessary tools, including required funding to meet its aspirations.

The Star