Petrol: Pumping Price May Drop by Another N8

• Petrol: Pumping Price May Drop by Another N8

Oil marketers have said the pumping price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as Petrol, could drop between N5 to N8 per litre from the current level.

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had slashed the petrol price following the fall in landing cost due to the low oil price.

However, oil marketers said pumping price could drop further once other operators join the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in importing petroleum products.

Aminu Abdulkadir, the Chairman, Board of Trustees, IPMAN, who doubles as Group Executive Director, Nipco Plc, explained that pumping price would go down in relation to the crude oil price.

He said, “Dealing with pump products is something that is not definite and that is why the PPPRA provides a band. A band is a range.

“Today, as the price is at N123.5/litre, I believe that by the time the market is totally free for marketers to import on their own, the band could still come lower than what it is by at least N5 to N8.”

Abdulkadir said, “They (PPPRA) will always partake in determining a band and not to give a fixed price. As the price of crude oil increases, the price of petroleum products will also increase but not as sharply as in an under-deregulated market.

“Different filling stations will sell at different prices and that is the essence of freeing the market. Definitely you will not get a fixed price but as the deregulation matures, the difference in the prices of retail outlets will not be up to N1.

He added, “By the time the industry understands the deregulation very well, you will find out that the difference between one retail outlet and the other will not be more than 50k to 80k because efficiency will come to play.”