Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has reiterated that there is no increase petrol pump prices in the month March following a report making the rounds on Friday morning.
In a tweet on its official Twitter account on Friday morning, the state-owned oil agency wrote, “NNPC insists no increase in ex-depot price of PMS in March.”
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, had on Thursday, stated that the petrol pump price has been fixed at N212.61 per litre, for month of March.
The agency also hinted that the Federal Government has officially confirmed the return of fuel subsidy as it looks to cushion the effect on citizens and other end users.
According to the PPPRA’s PMS guiding price, released to stakeholders, the new price of N212.61 is supposed to commence from March 1st and run till March 31st, 2021.
However, the fact that the price of the commodity is still been sold at an average of N170 in petrol stations across the country, meant that the Federal Government, through the NNPC is spending an average of N42 to subsidise a litre of the commodity for Nigerians.
The PPPRA confirmed that fuel subsidy actually officially returned in February 2021, as according to the downstream oil sector regulator, the actual pump price of PMS for February was between N183.74 and N186.74 per litre, meaning that the Federal Government paid an average of N16 per litre for PMS in the month.
PPPRA disclosed that in January 2021, the price of the commodity was between N163.36 per litre and N166.36 per litre.
According to the PPPRA, based on the average cost for the period, February 1st to 28th 2021, and an average FMDQ Importer and Exporter (I&E) Naira/US Dollar Exchange Rate of N403.80, the expected retail price of PMS for March 2021, stands at N209.61 per litre and N212.61 per litre, being the lower and upper band respectively.
Giving a breakdown of the cost elements of the commodity, the PPPRA put the Expected Ex-Coastal price at N175.73 per litre, comprising Average gasoline price (FOB Rotterdam barge), and Average freight rate of N169.22 and N6.51 per litre respectively.
It also put the Expected Landing Cost of the commodity at N189.61 per litre, comprising the addition to the ex-coastal price, of average lightering expenses, Nigeria Port Authority Charges, NIMASA charges, jetty throughput charges, storage charge and average financing cost of N4.81, N2.49, N0.23, N1.61, N2.58 and N2.17 per litre, respectively.
Furthermore, the addition of the wholesalers margin of N4.03 per litre; administrative charge of N1.23 per litre; transporters’ allowance of N3.89 per litre; bridging fund of N7.51 per litre and Marine Transport Average of N0.15, brings the expected ex-depot price, that is the price at which the commodity is sold to petrol stations, to N206.42 per litre.
The PPPRA further stated that the inclusion of retailers’ margin of about N6.19 per litre, would bring the pump price of the commodity, the price at which it is sold to motorists, to N212.61 per litre.
