By Agency Report
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says with the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) other interested parties are free to import products once they meet the requirements.
The NMDPRA said the PMS importers must meet regulations as stipulated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA 2021).
NMDPRA Chief Executive (ACE), Mr Farouk Ahmed, made this known on Wednesday in Abuja while briefing the newsmen, shortly after a meeting with the Oil Marketing Companies on expectations on post Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) deregulation.
The engagement had in attendance officials of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) among others.
Ahmed said the authority was looking at the flexibility and ease of doing business, to enable importers to import with ease.
He said the meeting became necessary regarding the current situation in the downstream sector relating the pronouncement by the President, on removal of petroleum subsidy on PMS.
“The engagement aims at aligning and also rolling out policies in terms of requirements for the quotation of PMS. We thought it is necessary to fashion out areas of concerns and promote clarity regarding the way forward.
“There will be transparency while conducting the business of the importation of PMS both by the major marketing companies, MOMAN, and the DAPPMAN, as well as the NNPC Limited.
“NNPC was the sole importer of PMS in the past but again with the advent of the removal of subsidy on that product, it is necessary to open the way to other interested parties that want to import so long as they meet the requirements,” he said.
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He said the NNPC Ltd was going to be drawing down on their importation from being the sole importer to bringing in about 30 to 40 per cent maximum in line with provision of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) regulation.
“The regulation says that nobody should exceed 40 per cent of the market share in terms of their own regulations and we want to abide by that,” he said.
“We also deliberated on some concerns in terms of provision of foreign exchange for them to import. We also discuss the issue of quality of product importation and the source locations.
“So we deliberated on how to control and ensure that all the products imported into the country or distributed locally meet the requirements so that the consumer is not negatively affected.
“We also discussed our collaboration with the law enforcement agencies, especially regarding the movement of products across the country,” he said.
On pricing, he said the meeting discussed and agreed that as much as the market was deregulated and there was no price capping by NMDPRA, that it would take responsibility by ensuring that the prices would be reflective of the market.
Ahmed said the meeting understood that prices would not be the same all across the country because of local transportation and logistics.
“For example, the price in Lagos being the main receiving location for imports will not be the same with the prices in Ibadan, Sokoto or Borno states because the local transportation costs will be added to the price.
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“We also agreed finally that we should have a small team to look at some critical aspect of the PIA that warrants only those with refinery or those with international trade experience are allowed to import,” he said.
He said it agreed that NNPC Ltd. would continue to import until there was critical mass for other importers, adding that it was already processing licenses for interested companies.
He said it was fast-tracking the process of issuing them licenses to import, adding that it was interacting with NNPC Ltd. to ensure that the market was already well supplied products without gap in importation. (NAN)
