Major marketers lament non-supply of kerosene

FILE: Queue for kerosene at a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mega Filling Station in Yelwa, Bauchi State. NAN PHOTO.

The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, has said that there is no solution now to scarcity of kerosene, which has been lingering for over three months, as the product is currently being sold for between N250 and N300 per litre depending on the location and outlet.

Kerosene was initially regulated at N50 per litre, but has been fully deregulated by the Federal.

Government. Although deregulation should have boosted the competitiveness of the product, but for the fact that it is also used as aviation fuel, which is also scarce, has further compounded the situation.
The Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Mr. Femi Olawore, who disclosed this to Vanguard, explained that since the deregulation of kerosene market, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, drastically reduced its import, adding that marketers were expected to import any shortfall, that the scarcity of foreign exchange is not helping matters.

He said, “Even with the policy of floating rate for Dollar by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), there is no sufficient forex in the market. You hardly can get Dollar at official rate of N285, meaning that marketers have to source for forex from the black market rate of over N378, even with this, forex is not readily available.

 ‘’The totality of it is that marketers are not importing kerosene, as there is no forex. So, the small quantity of kerosene available from refineries is sold at exorbitant price. I want to make it clear that ‘’Major oil marketers under MOMAN have protested to the Petroleum Products and Marketing Company (PPMC)’s management because the allocation of small quantity of kerosene available is skewed in favour of other marketers. 

In most cases, we are completely denied kerosene supply.” Responding to question on the economic benefits of the increase in petrol pump price from N87 per litre to N145, to marketers he said; “Our margins have increased from N4.60k to N6 per litre, with just N1.40k difference, which is only a marginal increase with very little effect.”

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