Three leading oil marketers are preparing to import a total of 141 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, into Nigeria this week, barring any unforeseen delays.
Sources in the industry revealed this on Tuesday, following the full deregulation of the downstream oil sector by the Nigerian government.
These imports come shortly after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited raised pump prices for petrol produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The price hike, which was announced on Monday, has opened up opportunities for more PMS imports. It is expected that the newly imported petrol will be sold across the country once regulatory checks are completed.
According to insiders, three vessels carrying the petrol are currently en route to Nigeria. Each vessel is expected to deliver approximately 35,000 metric tonnes of petrol, translating to about 141 million litres in total, based on the conversion rate of 1,341 litres per metric tonne.
A source in the oil industry, who preferred to remain anonymous due to a lack of authorization to speak on the matter, told PUNCH; “Most marketers often import three parcels for this kind of transaction and the lowest parcel is about 35,000 metric tonnes of PMS. Now, because of how the business is run, you see marketers bringing in between two and three parcels.
“This week, we expect about three marketers to bring in products. However, some of these imports are not cast in stone, in the sense that the influence of many regulatory authorities is still there. So it is not that you will just go and bring in products and you then start to sell them.
“The regulators, such as the NMDPRA, have to look at the quality, flash points and so many other things that should be taken into consideration before the product comes in. And when it lands, they will take samples and check them in their labs,” the marketer added.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has mandated that all imported petrol must undergo three critical tests before it can be sold in the country. These tests will check for quality, flashpoints, and other key standards.
NMDPRA spokesperson George Ene-Ita said; “The products must be subjected to our testing protocols at the ports. The products must conform to stipulated standards before we give them the authorisation to offload to their terminals.
“Also, before the smaller vessels bring it further inland to Nigeria our people will fly to the place to see the product and carryout some tests to ensure the right specification is upheld.
“Tests are also done at the products’ origins. And when the products come in, before they are released to the market, further tests would be conducted to ensure that they meet the specifications,” he stated.
