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Fuel Crisis Looms over Non-Supply of Crude to Oil Traders, Forex Challenges

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crude

Barely four months after the federal government adjusted the pump price of petrol upwards from N86.50 to N145 per litre to stabilise product importation and distribution, oil traders have raised concern over likely scarcity of the product.

The fear expressed by the marketers stemmed from the alleged inability of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to supply crude to some oil traders and refineries in exchange for refined products, under the Direct Sales-Direct Purchase (DSDP) contractual arrangements initiated with some selected oil traders and foreign refineries some months ago.

The marketers were also alarmed by the increasing challenges facing them in accessing foreign exchange, and threatened that they might abandon petrol importation in the hands of only the NNPC, potentially plunging the country into another energy crisis.

They warned that the pegging of the pump price at N145 was based on N285 exchange rate and that the depreciation of the Naira in the inter-bank market to an average of N315 has created a huge gap left to be filled. Warning that it was not feasible for the price to remain at N145 with the current FX reality.

But the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru has dismissed the fear of possible scarcity, saying that the corporation has continued to meet its obligations to marketers and foreign refineries in the areas of foreign exchange allocation and supply of crude oil under its DSDP contracts with the oil traders.

While the marketers alleged that the corporation has defaulted in the supply of crude oil to the foreign refineries, Baru dismissed this claim, revealing that NNPC currently accounts for 90 per cent of petrol imported into the country and has 1.3 billion litres of petrol in reserves “and is not about to let the country go through another crisis of scarcity”.

Following the controversy, which trailed the NNPC’s Offshore Processing Arrangement (OPA, the corporation had adopted the DSDP framework under which it provides crude to selected traders and refineries in return for petroleum products in full and extra margins, unlike the OPA.

DSDP also eliminates all the cost elements of middlemen and gives NNPC the latitude to take control of sales and purchase of crude oil transaction with its partners.

But sources close to the marketers said the corporation had defaulted in the supply of crude oil to the foreign refineries, thus threatening the steady supply of petroleum products in the country.

According to them, lack of crude oil due to the attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta, has hampered the corporation’s ability to meet its contractual obligations under the DSDP.

The marketers said that since the programme started, the NNPC had not been able to supply crude oil to the oil traders.

“The militants stopped almost all the onshore production and because of this, NNPC has no crude to supply to the traders. The oil traders supplied petrol initially but stopped when the NNPC was not bringing crude. The traders had to stop because they did not want a repeat of the 2008/2009 crisis when they were indebted to the tune of over $3 billion due to NNPC’s inability to meet obligations. Fresh crisis is looming.”

Having lost over 70 per cent onshore and shallow water production to militant attacks, the NNPC can no longer access the 445,000 barrels per day allocation to the refineries, which is used to service the corporation’s DSDP agreement.

With the loss of production from the traditional terrains, the country’s oil revenue is currently derived solely from deep offshore production where the NNPC has Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) arrangement with some international oil companies (IOCs).

The deep offshore fields sustaining Nigeria’s crude oil production include: Shell’s 225,000 barrels per day capacity Bonga field; Chevron’s 250,000 barrels per day capacity Agbami field; Total’s 185,000 bpd Akpo and 180,000 bpd Usan deepwater fields; as well as ExxonMobil’s 190,000 barrels per day Erha field.

Also Total’s 200,000 bpd Egina deepwater field being developed at the cost of $16 billion will start production in 2017 after the $3.3 billion Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel arrives the country in March or April 2017.

However, some of the five producing fields have not attained their nameplate production capacity.

Baru however in a telephone chat yesterday said there was no looming scarcity.

On the issue of alleged non-supply of crude to the traders, Baru said “at the moment, we have been giving them and I have also done a tender as a backup in case I have any issue.”

“So, there is no cause for alarm,” he added.

Also speaking on the foreign exchange challenges, Baru stated that NNPC has been assisting some of the marketers with proven financial capacity to pay for foreign exchange provided by International Oil Companies (IOCs).

“The criteria is important because we could give some of them the foreign exchange, but they may not have the capacity to pay for it. We checked with their banks to confirm that they have the financial capacity because we don’t want a situation where we give them the forex and its diverted or they can’t pay for it. So we carry out a thorough evaluation. We have NNPC, Central Bank and also PPPRA representatives on the committee that evaluates them on the basis of capacity to perform.

“And once we are satisfied on that basis, we now give them forex. To say there is no forex, I don’t think it is correct. At the moment as I am talking to you, I have over 1.3 billion litres and that is more than enough for this September. We have sufficient quantities and not in any scarcity. And we also have direct sales, direct purchase where I give them crude oil and they bring in petrol for me or any product that I choose to bring in,” Baru explained.

But some marketers who faulted Baru’s claim, alleged that the challenges of accessing foreign exchange has also hampered their ability to import petrol, thus threatening product availability.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Petrol

Three Oil Companies Ask Court To Stop NMDPRA From Seizing Their Petrol Import Licences, Accuse Dangote Refinery of Monopoly

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Aliko Dangote - Investors King

In response to Dangote Refinery N1 billion suit, three oil companies including Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, A.A. Rano Limited, and AYM Shafa Limited, have prayed the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) from reviewing or withdrawing their import licenses.

The oil companies also urged the court not to block them from importing petrol in the interest of energy security and promotion of healthy competition in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

Dangote Refinery had approached the court and filed and a N100 billion suit in damages against NMDPRA for allegedly continuing to issue import licenses to NNPCL, Matrix, and other companies for importing petroleum products such as Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Jet Fuel (Aviation Turbine Fuel), despite that the refinery is producing the products in quantity that meets Nigerians’ needs.

The refinery also dragged NNPCL, AYM Shafa Limited, A.A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited in the suit.

Counsel to Dangote Refinery, Ogwu James Onoja SAN, in the originating summons, dated September 6, 2024, claimed that NMDPRA contravened Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by issuing import licenses for petroleum products.

Onoja stated that such licenses should only be granted in cases of petroleum product shortages and not when Dangote Refinery is meeting the needs of the populace.

According to Onoja, NMDPRA has been discouraging local refiners such as Dangote Refinery by its actions.

Responding to the suit through their written address and counter-affidavit, dated November 5, 2024, and filed by Ahmed Raji SAN, the three oil companies said their businesses do not in any way hamper, disrupt, or harm Dangote Refinery’s operations.

The three defendants claimed the plaintiff allegedly sought to monopolise the petroleum industry in Nigeria, where it alone would control supply, distribution, and pricing.

In the defendants’ affidavit, deposed by Ali Ibrahim Abiodun, Acting Managing Director of AYM Shafa (with the consent and authority of Matrix, A.A. Rano, and AYM), it was stated that the defendants are qualified and capable of being licensed as importers of refined petroleum products under Section 317(9) of the PIA and that their licenses to import such products were lawfully issued by the appropriate authority, NMDPRA.

The deponent claimed that it typically takes an average of two months for Dangote Refinery to fulfill orders and that it rarely meets demand, with trucks waiting for months to be loaded at the refinery.

In contrast, he claimed it takes about three weeks to import petroleum products from offshore refineries.

The affidavit revealed that A.A. Rano’s oil depot in Lagos has a storage capacity of 55,000,000 liters and can load about 200 trucks per 24 hours.

The deponent stated that the company also owns 220 filling stations and another 85 affiliates and leased filling stations.

According to the deponent, AA Rano was one of the first to take delivery of AGO from Dangote Refinery, loading 20,000 MT of AGO on or about April 16, 2024, and has since purchased and loaded additional cargoes totaling approximately 190,000,000 liters.

Despite this patronage, the affidavit claimed that Dangote Refinery has continued to place obstacles that make it difficult for A.A. Rano to purchase products solely from the refinery.

The oil companies called on the court to dismiss the suit.

Meanwhile, the court adjourned the matter till January 20, 2025, for a status report.

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Energy

Malaysia’s CNG Ban Sparks Debate in Nigeria as Tinubu Pushes for CNG Adoption

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Nigerians on and off social media have expressed concern following a recent decision by the Malaysian government to phase out Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles by July 2025.

While the Nigerian government continues to urge citizens to use CNG as a cleaner, cheaper fuel alternative to petrol, Anthony Loke, Malaysian Transport Minister, questioned the safety of CNG.

Announcing the ban, the Malaysian Minister highlighted the risk associated with CNG vehicles, especially after tanks exceeded their 15-year safe usage limit.

Minister Loke announced the ban while speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, November 6.

The Malaysian Minister disclosed that the ban will affect over 44,000 vehicles in Malaysia, including private cars, taxis, buses, and industrial machinery.

According to Loke, “These NGV tanks have a safe usage lifespan of approximately 15 years, and if they are not replaced, they become unsafe to use and may fail at any time.”

Loke announced that the phase-out will be in stages with the first being the halting of CNG sales by the state oil and gas corporation, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) at its stations starting July 1, 2025.

The latest development has sparked numerous reactions as Nigerians criticized the Tinubu government for adopting CNG amid Malaysia’s phase-out.

Reacting to the development, @Gozie_mu wrote, “Nigeria to embrace it because we are the world’s dumping site.”

Another user, @iniekott, wrote: “Meanwhile, Nigerian rulers are putting CNG forward as a safe alternative to petrol.

“Note the clear-headed and tangible provisions made by the Malaysian government to help citizens with the transition.”

“Malaysia introduced CNG in the 1990s; now they are stopping it in 2024, while Bola and his supporters are asking Nigerians to change to CNG. APC is taking you 34 years backwards, but some of you’re defending it,” a user, PaschalNwosu5 wrote.

#SmartAtuadi criticized the government’s carelessness saying, “Nigeria seems determined to promote CNG without considering the safety implications that Malaysia has raised.”

Many others called on the government and government officials to lead by example by converting their vehicles to CNG before urging Nigerians to do so.

#Oserume1 commented, “If CNG was a good idea, Tinubu would have converted his official luxury Cadillac Escalade from petrol to CNG!”

@ekenezion said, “The president refused to convert his Escalade to CNG.”

@buzuzu7 opined, “I will only embrace this if all ministers and the presidency lead by example. I can’t be your guinea pig.”

The Nigerian government had since reacted to the CNG ban in Malaysia.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in his statement said the planned phase-out by the Malaysian government speaks more to the safety of LPG and not the safety of CNG.

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Energy

National Grid Collapses Twice in Two Days, Nigerians Express Frustration

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Electricity

The Nigerian National Grid has announced yet another collapse, marking the second occurrence in just two days. 

The collapse of the Grid was made known by the Nigeria National Grid via its official page on the X platform. 

Following the Grid collapse, the Jos Electricity Distribution PLC, released an apology statement through the Head of Corporate Communications, Friday Elijah, stating that the grid has collapsed and assuring Nigerians that the power will be restored to normal soon 

“The current outage being experienced within our franchise States is a result of loss of power supply from the national grid. The loss of power supply from the national grid occurred this morning at about 1128 hours of today, Thursday, 7th November 2024, hence the loss of power supply on all our feeders,” the statement read. 

In a similar vein, Ikeja Electric PLC apologised to its customers regarding the grid that collapsed. It said, “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today 07 November, 2024 at 11:29Hrs affecting supply within our network.” Adding that “Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders.” 

It should be noted that the grid collapsed on Tuesday and shortly after power was restored, the grid reportedly collapsed again on Thursday.

Moreover, the recent Grid collapse has garnered eyebrows from netizens showing discontent towards the constant collapse of the electricity grid. 

One netizen with the user name @Aumarsafana2917 tweeted “Enough of all these stories now, we’re tired. We’ve heard them enough.” 

Another X user, @ikbank tweeted “ This has become so absurd. Are we now living in a nation where things no longer work? For crying out loud, how many things are we going to continuously experience this collapse (outage). Why can’t things work effectively with minimal stress. So tiring!” 

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