Some petroleum marketers have attributed the scarcity of the House Hold Kerosene (HHK), to low market demand and patronage.
Freedomonline reports that consumers have been experiencing acute scarcity of HHK otherwise called kerosene amid exorbitant prices.
A check by our Correspondent in Abuja on Thursday showed that the scarcity exposed consumers to difficulties in accessing the products, a trend which made them have high preferences for the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
A liter of kerosene was being sold between N1, 000 and N1,100 at a few fuel stations, while the product was sold at exorbitant prices at black market outlets in the area.
Commenting on the situation, Dr Billy Gillis-Harry, National President, Petroleum Retailers Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), attributed the scarcity to low patronage, adding that kerosene consumption pattern has changed drastically.
According to Gillis-Harry, there are two types of kerosene comprising Dual-Purpose Kerosene (DPK) and House Hold Kerosene (HHK).
DPK is a type of kerosene used for multiple purposes, notably as aviation fuel called Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) or JET A-1, and as cooking and lighting oil (Illuminating kerosene).
Its ability to serve these different functions is the basis for its name.
Gillis-Harry said DPK and HHK took off everything from firewood, while gas took off the steam from HHK and DPK which could also be used in place of aviation fuel.
“HHK is purely household kerosene which is strictly for home use, while DPK could be used domestically and also for aviation but the octane rating is very high and could be volatile too.
“We normally receive kerosene allocation once in a while, load it at the stations, while consumers come to buy the product, but it is not rampant again as it used to be way back.
“The one we are getting from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) is the HHK, the household kerosene, strictly and clearly for home use.
“If you buy an allocation of 45,000 litres and load in the station, it will take months before it is sold out.
“So, where are you going to get the money to start recycling? Because this is our business, the profit margin is very low. And what we depend on is recycling and consistent business,’’ he said.
He advised consumers to always patronise authentic fuel stations that have certified product allocations given by the NNPC Ltd.
On the complaint that the scarcity was caused by alleged mixing of kerosene with aviation fuel, Gillis-Harry said he had never witnessed such, stressing that the NNPC Ltd. warned against mixing its product to sell to consumers.
He recalled that the association paid a business visit to the Port Harcourt refinery, where the company clearly demonstrated and showed the marketers the quality of the products, including kerosene being produced in the refineries.
Gillis-Harry, who confirmed the high quality of the kerosene at the refinery, said that there was no correlation as to the quality of what was being complained and what they saw.
He said the association had introduced the Petroleum Product Passports for petroleum quality assurance and quality control to ascertain the quality of products from point of loading to point of discharge and supply.
“And since we started implementing that policy, there has been quite a lot of improvement.’’
On his part, Alhaji Maigandi Garima, National President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), acknowledged low demand of kerosene in the market occasioned by the popularity of cooking gas.
“Most people now rely on the green energy, called LPG,” he said.
Garima, while confirming that marketers were loading kerosene from the Port Harcourt and Dangote Refineries, decried that the product could take more than two months before being sold out at the fuel stations.
However, some of the consumers said that they bought the product at the black market outlets between N1, 500 and N2, 000 per litre.
A consumer, Mrs Rose Edeh said she had stopped using kerosene to cook with the stove, but always had the product in stock for other domestic uses, such as killing of reptiles and lighting charcoal for cooking.
“I had to go in search of the product but could only buy from a black marketer at N2, 000 per litre. Its efficacy in killing reptiles is topnotch,’’ she said.
Mrs Amaka Igwe, who urged the government to reduce its price, said due to its scarcity and high price, she resorted to cooking gas.
She further said that in spite of its scarcity and low demand, some institutions in the country only allowed the usage of the product by students in place of gas to avoid explosion.
