The Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited says it is expecting over 2.3 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit in the country by the end of February and that over 1 billion litres of the product were currently being distributed nationwide.
The NNPC Group Executive Director, Downstream, Adetunji Adeyemi, who disclosed this at a briefing in Abuja, said concerted efforts were being made to end the challenges in the supply of petrol.
According to Mr Adeyemi, the expected 2.3 billion litres will restore the sufficiency level above the national target of 30 days.
He assured that the product being dispensed at various filling stations in the country was safe, as the expected 2.3 billion litres would restore the sufficiency level above the national target of 30 days.
Mr Adeyemi explained that in order to accelerate PMS distribution across the country, the company had commenced 24 hours’ operations at its depots and retail outlets.
He disclosed that NNPC had constituted a monitoring team, with the support of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, and other security agencies to ensure smooth distribution of PMS nationwide.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Abdullahi Gaya, had assured Nigerians that his Committee would handle companies who imported methanol-blended PMS into the country.
A statement by Garba Deen Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC Limited, quoted Mr Gaya as responding to a question from one of the committee members in that regard.
Mr Gaya spoke during an engagement with Management of the NNPC organised by his committee on the current fuel situation in the country.
Earlier while briefing the committee, the NNPC CEO/GMD, Mele Kyari, explained that the situation came about as a result of the discovery of methanol in the PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria under the subsisting commercial contract operated by NNPC and its partners.
According to Mr Kyari, tests did not reveal methanol presence because Nigeria’s specifications do not include methanol.
“We are a law-abiding company. There is no way we could have known about the methanol presence.
The only way we could have known about it is if our suppliers, in good faith, made the disclosure to us.
In this particular instance, the discovery was made by our inspection agents who noticed the emulsification at the filling stations and brought it to our attention.
“Subsequent investigation revealed that the four cargoes which are all from the same source also contained methanol-blended PMS,” Mr Kyari said
