The Group CEO, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, has disclosed why smuggling and cross border supply are bane of effective and adequate fuel distribution and supply in the country.
Speaking during an interview on Channels TV on Tuesday, Kyari said the profit margin between delivering fuel to some parts of the country and taking it to neighbouring countries promote smuggling.
He disclosed that fuel truck from Lagos delivering to a filling station in Maiduguri can earn a margin of N270,000 as opposed to N40 million or N50 million when sold across the border to neighbouring countries.
Kyari stated that the NNPC keeps track of every truck that has left every depot in the country, adding that fuel supply had increased from 63 million litres per day to over 70 million litres.
“We have truck numbers, destination fuel stations, destination states. And we have published these by list of states – where those trucks go, the number of trucks that have left those [depots], etc.
“When they leave the depots, where do they end up? That is what would have translated to national consumption,” he said.
The NNPC boss said it is practically impossible under an arbitrage environment and under a situation where neighbouring countries are helpless to say that there will be no cross-border movement of petroleum products.
“That’s why we’re making it legitimate in the sense that NNPC is now buying fuel stations across our borders, so that we can deliver to them legitimately. It is very simply impossible to stop this until we are able to solve this arbitrage issue.
“So, definitely, what you’re dealing with is a logistic challenge, rather than anything else,” he said.
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