No more subsidy on petrol pump price- NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that there would be no more subsidy on the pump price of petrol.

This is just as the Federal Government has expressed readiness to join other members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), in taking necessary measures in stabilising the crude oil market as well as preventing the possibility of a global economic meltdown.

Recall that the Federal Government had on April 1 reduced the pump price of petrol to N123.50/litre, after earlier reducing the price from N145/litre to N125/litre in March, due to the drastic fall in the price of crude oil in the international market as a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic

According to the official twitter handle of the Corporation, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, was quoted to have made the disclosure on Monday, during an interview on Moneyline, a programme aired by Africa Independent Television (AIT).

He said: “As at today, subsidy/underrecovery is ZERO. Going forward, there’ll be no resort to either subsidy or under-recovery of any nature.

“NNPC will just be another player in the market space. But we’ll be there for the country to sustain security of supply at the cost of the market.”

He further allayed fears of petrol scarcity saying, “Today, we have a very robust products supply and distribution from the loading depots up to fuel stations nationwide. We also have very good understanding with our strategic partners: the governors, marketers, depot owners, PTD, etc. There are no issues whatsoever.”

Optimistic that oil price would bounce back once COVID-19 pandemic subsides, Kyari noted that the NNPC’s aspiration was to grow Nigeria’s production to 3mbpd.

“The key issue in crude oil business is market fundamentals of demand/supply. I believe COVID-19 will subside and countries will come back to life. I don’t see oil price going below the $20 we saw last week. I’m certain, all things being equal, oil price’ll bounce back.

“As at yesterday (Sunday), our production has, for the first time in many years, risen to 2.3mbpd. We believe this will grow and the contribution of local companies in this regard will be meaningful, he added.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has given assurances to always put into consideration, the country’s short and long term economic forecasts, before taking any position.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, gave the assurances ahead of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting scheduled to hold later in the week.

In a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja, Sylva who said government has been monitoring events in the oil and gas industry with keen interest following the COVID-19 pandemic, commended the roles played by Saudi Arabia and other members of the OPEC family.

The statement reads in part: “As Minister of State for Petroleum I will continue to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on our, and the global, ecomomy.

“In our consultations with global industry stakeholders in the lead up to the OPEC+ meeting scheduled for Thursday April 9, the Nigerian Government will take a position that is in the best interest of our short term and long term economic forecast.

“It is well known that Nigeria has always collaborated with key OPEC members such Saudi Arabia in maintaining a balanced position that has helped to make OPEC one of the most successful global institutions in recent history. Nigeria intends to maintain this team spirit even as it takes into account the position of OPEC strategic allies such as Russia.

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“As always the driving force of our OPEC policy is first the stability of our national economy as well as the stability of the global economy which is heavily dependent on OPEC and its strategic partners, popularly refered to as OPEC+.

“Nigeria, like the rest of the world has been hit by the Global Pandemic Covid-19, and is prepared to join the rest of the world in making the neccessary sacrifices needed to stabilize the crude oil market; and to prevent what is likely to be a major global economic meltdown.”