At 30th Enugu International Trade Fair, NNPC, NPDC talk tough

Worried about the practice of some petroleum products dealers who sell petrol at exorbitant prices, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, has cautioned depot owners and terminal operators against selling petrol above the official ex-depot price of N133.28 per litre.
He gave the warning at NNPC’s Special Day at the 30th Enugu International Trade Fair ongoing in Enugu.
The NNPC boss said that consumers should also be informed that the price of petrol remains N145 per litre across the country.
Represented by Engr. Anibo Kragha, the Chief Operating Officer, Refineries and Petrochemicals, NNPC, Baru said: “To make this Easter that is fast approaching pleasurable, the NNPC has made necessary arrangements to berth two vessels of 50 million litres of petroleum daily.
“I use this opportunity to caution depot owners or terminal operators against selling petrol above official ex-depot price of N133.28 per litre. Most especially, as consumers of petroleum products, please be informed that the prices of petrol remains N145 per litre in the country.
“Any station which sells the product above the regulated price should be reported to the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, the industry regulator or to any law enforcement agency around you.
“As at today, I am delighted to inform you that NNPC has ensured that all the nooks and crannies of the country are kept wet with petroleum products. As I speak, no fewer than 55 depots across the country are fully stocked with petroleum products, including Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol.
“These depots include, 23 in Lagos, seven in Port Harcourt, 11 in Warri, six in Calabar and eight in Kaduna,”
He disclosed that the NNPC has started the turnaround maintenance of all the three refineries in Nigeria starting with the Port Harcourt Refinery which, according to him, began last month.
“The revitalisation of the plants has commenced in earnest, starting with the 210,000 barrel per stream-day Port Harcourt refinery which first phase of rehabilitation I had the honour to kick off last month.
“The value addition derivable from the rehabilitation of the refineries would include substantial reduction in petroleum product imports, with its attendant toll on forex; buoying the local economies of the areas of operations of the refineries in respect of the expected spin-off effects of their activities on secondary employment opportunities among others”, he said.
Earlier, the President of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Sir Emeka Udeze, urged the corporation to look into the dysfunctional NNPC depot in Enugu which has made lifting of the product hectic for marketers.
“I crave your indulgence to use this opportunity to say this. I don’t know what the policy of the Corporation is as of today, but permit us to draw the attention of the Corporation once more to the dysfunctionality of the NNPC depot in Enugu for the past two decades making the lifting of the product by our members very cumbersome with added cost.
“I pray that the Group Managing Director and Board of the Corporation should look into this matter for the needful to be done. We understand the intricacies and challenges but we believe that they are surmountable”, he said.
Meanwhile, the high rate of oil pipelines vandalisation has become worrisome to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of NNPC.
Representative of the company at the trade fair, who spoke on ground of anonymity, said that criminality is the major challenge they are facing and warned vandals to desist or face the full wrath of the law.
Another challenge is community related. He said that the company has a Community Relations Department that takes care of community challenges on a daily basis.
The representative said that the NPDC has been participating at the trade fair for years.
He explained: “One of the major aims of coming for this trade fair is for us to touch the people and for people to get in touch with us. People use diesel, kerosene, gas and other petroleum products. It is for people to know what the NNPC does, for the people to know what the NPDC does.
“Some people had actually come to know how to partner with us and I think it has been quite fruitful”.
On the trade fair arrangement, the representative said: “ECCIMA arrangement is okay but I am not happy with the level of turnout in Enugu. I don’t know whether it is because of the location. I hope that with time, more people will come out”.
Talking about the NPDC, he said it was established in 1983 with offices in Warri, Port-Harcourt, Abuja and Benin.
NPDC is an exploration arm of the NNPC. It partakes on the oil and gas activities of NNPC.
The NPDC owns some oil blocs 100 per cent, some in partnership with other companies. It supplies gas to the Nigerian Gas Company and the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company.
It also takes care of gas distribution and gas transportation.