The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may have spent about N835 billion higher on petroleum subsidy in the first nine months of this year than it did last year based on imported products’ data provided by the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources.
The official data provided by the two entities on the volume of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol during the nine-month period showed that the country’s total importation of the product stood at 15.21 billion litres, up from the 11.33 billion litres imported in the corresponding period of last year.
When analysed using a baseline of N171.4 per litre as the landing cost for the 15.21 billion litres imported from January to September, it means that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), may have spent about N834.48 billion to subsidize the fuel imports in the period.
According to the report, PMS imported volume by the corporation rose from the average 56.5 million litres per day in January to 86.4 million litres per day in February.
The imported petrol volume was reported at 66.8 million litres per day in March, rising to 70.7 million litres per day the following month but declining remarkably to 36.7 million litres per day in May.
In June, the imported volume dipped further to 34.5 million litres per day while rising again in July to 36.5 million litres per day in July, 58.4 million litres per day in August, and 57.8 million litres per day in September.
Based on the above volume, the data indicated that petrol import on the average rose to 55.1 million litres per day in the first nine months of this year up from the 48.5 million litres per day in the first nine months of 2017.
The volumes for 2015 and 2016 on the average were 49.2 million litres per day and 49.8 million litres per day respectively.
The increase in petrol import in the face of rising crude oil prices in the period under review meant that the NNPC will still spend more on fuel import subsidy this year.
Crude oil price, which accounts for about 80 percent of the final cost of petrol, rose to a four-year high of $86.74 per barrel early last month. However, it traded below $65 per barrel last week
Currently, the landing cost of PMS is higher than the official pump price of N145 per litre.
It would be recalled that the NNPC had been the sole importer of petroleum products into the country over the past year as major oil marketers stopped importation due to huge indebtedness of the Federal Government on subsidy payments and their inability to obtain credit from their banks.
For instance, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), at the weekend had again appealed to the Federal Government for immediate payment of the over N800 billion outstanding subsidy debt owed them to enable them sustain their operations.
