The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) imported 136.7 million litres of premium motor spirit (PMS) in a single day as importation of refined petroleum products persists, Daily Trust can report.
A document sighted by Daily Trust showed that the product arrived into the country on Monday, 10th February.
This is just as checks by Daily Trust Tuesday showed that fuel prices came down marginally at some filling stations in Lagos with a litre going as low as N925 per litre.
Daily Trust reports that large scale importation of refined petroleum products continued despite Nigeria’s local refining capacity through the revived government refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri as well as private refineries like the $20bn Dangote Refinery.
In December 2024, the NNPC announced the resumption of refining operation for the 125,000 barrels per day (bpd) Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC).
This came a few weeks after Port Harcourt Refinery was also said to have resumed refining operations after decades of inactivity.
Motor Tanker vessels report document reviewed by our correspondent indicated that NNPCL spent over N126.5 billion to import more than 136.7 million litres of PMS in a single day.
The motor tanker vessels report which tracks the cargo tanks entering the country, indicated that NNPCL imported 102,000 metric tonnes of PMS on Monday, 10th February which roughly translates to 136,782,000 litres of petrol.
The products were imported through Lagos ports. The document showed that 37,000 metric tonnes were transported by the Kriti Bay and Kouris ships via the ASPM terminal, while another 28,000 metric tonnes were brought in by the Hapnia Andre ship through the PWA/BOP/NOJ terminal.
At the current N925 landing cost, NNPCL would have spent N126,523,350,000 to import the petrol in a single day, despite recent claims that the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries had resumed refining operations.
Some stakeholders and industry players said Nigeria should not be importing this much if truly the government refineries are now working.
“Besides why are we importing this much when our daily consumption is just 30 million litres. We really need to probe this to really have a true picture of what is happening,” a source said.
Another industry player said, “There is a lot that is not true. You all don’t question anything coming from the refineries. You think everything is true?
Meanwhile checks by Daily Trust yesterday indicated that fuel prices are easing at some filling stations with MRS selling the cheapest at N925 per litre.
MRS is in partnership with Dangote Refineries which recently reduced its ex-depot price from N950 to N890 per litre.
Apart from MRS, Mobil also reduced its price from N960 to N940; SGR at N953.
A commercial driver, Ajani Monsuru, who spoke with our correspondent said the reduction is not significant, adding that motorists would only see relief when fuel prices crash below N900.
