The President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government has directed petroleum industry’s regulators, operators and stakeholders to ensure that retail petrol price reflects the steep drop in crude oil price in line with acceptable standard of a well-functioning deregulated market.
The government said it was unacceptable to keep domestic pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, at a disproportionate high level considering the significant decline in crude oil price in recent period.
At a stakeholders’ meeting on cost reflective pricing of PMS yesterday at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja, the government said petroleum marketers must not justify high petrol prices based on old, higher cost of fuel stocks, noting that current reduction in cost should reflect in pump prices for consumers. Demographics
The meeting, led by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, brought together major industry players, including regulators such as NMDPRA, representatives of operators such as Dangote Petroleum Refinery, and major associations including Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) among others.
The meeting comes on the heels of global concerns about perceived profiteering by petroleum operators. In the wake of the United States-Israel-Iran conflict, the crude oil price had fluctuated to a peak of around $118 per barrel, creating similar steep rise in petrol prices, including in Nigeria where petrol retail price hovered around N1,596 per litre. Demographics
However, as tension eased and the warring parties brokered relative truce, crude oil price dropped significantly to around $70 per barrel. Petrol retail prices remain disproportionate to the level of decline in crude oil price.
In United States, President Donald Trump accused oil firms of petrol price gouging, directing Department of Justice (DOJ) to probe oil marketing companies. Price gouging is the tendency to raise prices on essential goods or services to an unfair or unreasonably high level during emergencies like natural disasters or pandemics, exploiting desperate consumers.
Trump said oil majors have refused to lower petrol pump prices despite sharp reduction in global crude oil prices.
In Nigeria, where petrol retail prices hover above N1,200, the Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has affirmed that its mandate extends to protecting consumers and preventing undue profiteering in the downstream oil sector. Demographics
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
