The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has expressed its readiness to work with all relevant stakeholders in the downstream sector of the Oil and Gas industry to bring to an end the lingering fuel scarcity across the country.
The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Joseph T. Dawha stated this while on a tour of some filling stations in Abuja with some top management staff of the Corporation.
Dr. Dawha noted that the NNPC as supplier of last resort has improved availability of premium motor spirit otherwise known as petrol in the country and would ensure effective distribution of the product nationwide.
He said arising from the meeting with petroleum products marketing stakeholders last week, the NNPC and its downstream subsidiary Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) is committed to bringing the fuel queue situation to an end in Abuja and across the states of the federation.
The NNPC GMD said as at today, the PPMC has a stock level of 1.1billion litres representing 27 days sufficiency stressing that the stock excludes volumes with confirmed delivery dates within the next couple of days.
Dr. Dawha appealed to the general public to desist from panic buying, hoarding or patronizing of black marketers while urging stakeholders to sustain the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.
The NNPC helmsman stated that the Corporation through its subsidiary, NNPC Retail Limited has embarked on massive petrol lifting to its Mega and Affiliate stations in Abuja and across the nation.
“In the last five days, we have brought into Abuja 428 trucks of premium motor spirit, averaging 85 trucks daily to address the petrol requirement in Abuja and its immediate environs,” Dr. Dawha said.
Speaking on the recent vandalized system 2B pipeline of the NNPC, the Managing Director of the PPMC, Prince Haruna Momoh said the system 2B pipeline in Ije Ododo in Lagos is the most vandalized pipeline and disclosed that already the situation has been brought under control and repair of the pipeline has already commenced.
Prince Momoh stated that as at today, the NNPC imports 50 percent of petroleum products into the country and with the 40 million daily petrol consumption of Nigerians, the Corporation would continue to intensify its efforts to wet the country with products from its coastal depots to inland depots.
The MD, PPMC noted that when the ongoing Rehabilitation and Turn Around Maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited is completed in July, 2015, the plant would run at 80 percent installed capacity and produce 5 million litres of petrol on a daily basis.
On his part, the Managing Director of NNPC Retail Limited, Mr. Chris Osarunmwwense said the NNPC Mega Stations and Affiliate Stations would increase their hours of service to motorists in order to clear the queues as soon as possible.
