The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has set September 15 timeline for its commencement of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) lifting from Dangote Refinery, following arrangements by the two entities.
The Chief Communications Officer of the state-controlled oil company, Olufemi Soneye, in a statement on Thursday, linked the timeline to the interview granted by the NNPCL’s Executive Vice President, Downstream operations, Mr. Adedapo Segun, during which he confirmed the full deregulation of the downstream subsector of the hydrocarbon resources industry.
Soneye also debunked lingering insinuations in the news media that the company was involved in downstream market’s price regulation, saying that there is no truth in the misleading news.
He stated: “The market has been deregulated, meaning that petrol prices are now determined by market forces rather than by the government or NNPC Ltd. Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices.
“On the commencement of lifting PMS from Dangote Refinery, Segun said that the NNPC Ltd was awaiting September 15th timeline provided by the Refinery”, Soneye stressed.
He quoted the Executive Vice President, Downstream as saying that the government, the company and other stakeholders cannot be happy with fuel scarcity, hence the efforts by the NNPCL and other marketers to ensure adequate petrol distribution nationwide.
