NNPC ready for forensic audit of daily petrol supply: Official

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has offered to submit itself for a forensic audit of fuel supply and subsidy management, insisting that the daily fuel supply is 68 million litres.

The NNPC disclosed this on Sunday in a statement signed by Garba Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC.

The statement explained that between January and August, the total volume of petrol imported into the country was 16.46 billion litres, which translated to an average supply of 68 million litres per day.

NNPC said import in 2021 was 22.35 billion litres, translating to an average supply of 61 million litres per day.

“The average daily evacuation (depot truck out) from January to August 2022 stands at 67 million litres per day as reported by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA),” the oil company stated. “While daily evacuation (depot loadouts) records of the NMDPRA do carry daily oscillation ranging from as low as four million litres to as high as 100 million litres per day.”

It further noted that rising crude oil prices and petrol supply costs above PPPRA (now NMDPRA) cap had caused oil marketing companies’ withdrawal from PMS import since the fourth quarter of 2017.

In light of the challenges, the statement said NNPC had remained the supplier of last resort and continued to transparently report the monthly PMS cost under-recoveries to the relevant authorities.

On cost, the NNPC added that the average international market determined landing cost in quarter two of 2022 was $1,283 per metric tonne and N46 per litre approved marketing and distribution cost.

“The combination of these cost elements translates to retail pump price of N462/litre, an average subsidy of N297/litre and an annual estimate of N6.5 trillion on the assumption of 60 million litres daily PMS supply,” it stated. “The NNPC promised to ensure compliance with existing governance framework that requires participation of relevant government agencies in all PMS discharge operations.”

The agencies include the Nigerian Ports Authority, NMDPRA, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Customs Service, and NIMASA, among others.

(NAN)