By Adedapo Adesanya
Three oil marketers will from July begin importing petroleum products into the country as a result of the licences given to them by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NMDPRA, Mr Farouk Ahmed, disclosed this on Wednesday during a meeting with oil marketers.
In a statement shared via Twitter, Mr Ahmed noted that there is an urgent need for product standardisation to prevent situations where consumers might be cheated by the importation of off-spec products into the country.
According to him, the meeting was aimed at raising awareness of the requirements of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 regarding the full deregulation and importation of petrol.
The NMDPRA boss said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited had agreed to reduce its petrol import volume to give room for other players in the industry, “therefore any marketer licenced to import petroleum products must comply with set guidelines”.
“Already, three oil marketers will from July this year start importing petroleum products into the country,” the statement partly read.
Mr Ahmed revealed that the oil marketers also reached an agreement to enhance cooperation with security agencies with the aim of facilitating the seamless supply and distribution of petroleum.
Meanwhile, the outgone President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the Dangote Refinery in May, boosting hopes of reducing dependency on imports as well as transforming the country into a net exporter of petroleum products.
Nigeria spent $23.3 billion last year on petroleum product imports and consumed around 33 million litres (8.7 million gallons) of petrol daily.
Mr Aliko Dangote, the largest shareholder in the 650,000 barrels per day refinery, said the first refined petroleum products from the facility would hit the market by August.
“There will be constant availability of high-quality fuels for our transportation sector; the refinery will also make available to our industries vital raw materials for a wide range of manufacturing,” he said.
