Fuel Queues Persist As Marketers Delay Petrol Loading

Oil marketers have yet to begin loading Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, despite the Federal Government’s assurance of availability this weekend.

Investigations revealed that while PMS vessels have arrived at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depots in Apapa and Port Harcourt, independent marketers are yet to start loading.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that as a result, long queues persisted in major cities on Friday, despite the earlier promise from the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, that petrol would be available before the weekend.

Mustapha Zarma, the National Operations Controller of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), confirmed on Friday that loading was yet to commence and warned that the queues might extend till Monday.

“There hasn’t been much loading yet. Even if it starts today, I doubt it’s substantial. We may not see any real improvement until Monday,” Zarma explained.

When asked whether the petrol was sourced from the Dangote Refinery, Zarma declined to comment, noting that NNPC would be better positioned to answer.

NNPC had earlier stated that it would begin lifting products from the Dangote Refinery on September 15, 2024. Zarma also noted that around 2,000 petrol tankers were still waiting at NNPC depots for clearance to load.

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Billy Gillis-Harry, President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), confirmed the situation, explaining that marketers were still not lifting petrol, leading to higher costs at stations that had supplies.

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