OIL marketers have declared that filling stations should not be blamed for the hike in the pump prices of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, as queues for the commodity surfaced in various locations nationwide on Saturday.
Many filling stations in Lagos, Kano, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, among others, were closed on Saturday, as dealers explained that they were monitoring developments to make adequate price adjustments.
This newspaper reported that petrol prices had risen to between N1,050 and N1,150/litre depending on the area of purchase, following the hike in the cost of the commodity by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and various depot owners.
Dealers confirmed that PMS prices would continue to rise since the major component in fuel production, crude oil, has been on the upward swing lately.
On Friday, there was an increase in the price of petrol produced by the Dangote refinery. The $20bn plant raised its PMS from N899/litre to N955/litre at its loading gantry.
This led to a hike in the pump prices of the commodity by retail stations that dispensed the product on Saturday, while many others shut their outlets to monitor developments.
“There is no scarcity of product, rather filling stations are closed because dealers are observing developments and are careful not to run at a loss,” a major marketer, who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.
The dealer insisted that marketers should not be blamed for the hike in petrol prices, stressing that the situation was due to the rise in the cost of crude oil.
Meanwhile, as many stations stayed closed on Saturday, the few that dispensed petrol sold it above N1,000/litre in Lagos, while those that dispensed below N1,000/litre, such as MRS, had long queues.
The MRS filling stations across the nation that dispensed petrol at the N935/litre price earlier agreed between the oil marketing firm and the Dangote refinery had massive queues of motorists on Sunday.
Commenting on the issue, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria said filling stations should not be blamed for the changes in the prices of PMS.
PETROAN attributed the increase in PMS prices to the rise in the cost of crude oil in the international market.
It said the benchmark for oil prices, Brent crude, stood at $80.85/barrel, while WTI oil and the OPEC basket were priced at $78.82 and $81.72/barrel, respectively.
Prices were said to have risen to a four-month high following the introduction of new US sanctions against Russian oil.
The National President of PETROAN, Dr Billy Gillis-Harry, quoting Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act, stated that petrol prices are determined by market forces, indicating that the government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited no longer set petrol prices.
As a result, he noted that refinery operators in Nigeria will respond accordingly to changes in crude oil prices.
Gillis-Harry noted that increasing crude oil prices would inevitably affect domestic costs.
“It’s no longer funny; even retail outlet owners are affected by this up-and-down movement of prices. It affects our business,” he noted.
Gillis-Harry emphasised that PETROAN members cannot buy petrol at a higher price and sell it at a lower price.
“Our selling rate always reflects our buying rate. Our members shouldn’t be blamed for the current increase; it’s an external factor,” he added.