The National Petroleum Company of Nigeria, L.td. has discussed the price increase of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as real-market gasoline.
The company’s Group Chief Executive Officer Malam Mele Kyari said this in an interview with reporters shortly after a private meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday.
Kyaris explained that the increase in the price of pm has nothing to do with supply issues, adding that there is a robust supply of the product in the country.
“I have no details at the moment.
You know we have the marketing wing of the company that adjusts prices according to market conditions.
And this is the meaning of making sure that the market regulates itself so that prices go up and sometimes down as well and this is really what we’re seeing in reality, this is how the market works.
“There is absolutely no supply problem when you go to the market buy the product you put on the market and sell it at the prevailing market price, there is nothing to do with supply, we have no supply problems.”
“There is a strong supply, we have more than thirty two days supply in the country, this is not a problem.
What I do know is that market forces will control the market, prices will sometimes be low and sometimes high but the supply will be stable.
He reassured Nigerians that policy is the best way forward for the country.
“I also assure Nigerians that this is the best way forward so that we can adjust prices when the market comes.
“I know several companies have imported oil pms, so many of them are online.
Market forces have come into play, people have confidence in the market and private sector people are now importing products.
“And there’s no way for them to recoup their costs if they can’t afford market-reflecting costs,” Kyari said.
For his part, Alhaji, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said that the authority does not set the price of the product, the market itself decides.
“As a regulator, you know, I told you in May that we are not going to set a price but the market will decide for itself and as you saw in early June when the price came out, it based on the cost of the import plus other distribution logistics and of course the importer’s profit margin.
“This market is deregulated and open to all participants.
As also mentioned yesterday (Monday) when I was in Lagos, we have about fifty six marketing companies that have applied and obtained licenses for importation.
He stated that he will procure ten of them in the third quarter, which is July, August and September.
And from that number We have already received the goods from some marketers.
Prudent Energy, AYM Shafa and Amadeb Cargo are coming tomorrow (Wednesday) so it’s just kind of an incentive to see that the market is free and as long as you’re working within the framework, especially in terms of quality, every Any import is free.
He insisted that the regulator should not cap the price because it was not part of those importing the product.
“But we are not going to limit pricing as a regulator, because we are not part of those who import, we are not a marketing company, we are just a regulator.
“So when you say market forces are working basically what it means is that you can see the price of Crude Oil going up, a few weeks ago it was back around $70 a barrel now it’s around $80 a barrel.
“So of course the price of crude oil also drives up the price of the product you know because the fraudsters are importing, they are based on course of import and other cost elements in terms of local delivery.” (NAN)
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