Fuel to sell below N87 next year–NNPC

The price of petrol may be less than N87 per litre by next year, latest findings by
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, have revealed.
According to the NNPC, the current pricing template for petrol, which was

prepared by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, contains signif­
icant inefficiencies that should be reviewed.
The corporation’s Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Mr.
Bello Rabiu, told journalists in Abuja on Friday that going by the fall in the price
of crude oil, it was important to consult relevant stakeholders in order to
produce an adjusted template.
Rabiu said consultation with stakeholders was to negotiate and reduce some of
the costs associated with the importation of petrol, adding that the government
had the target of reducing the amount charged for logistics and distribution
margin on every litre of premium motor spirit consumed in Nigeria.
The GGM was affirmative that the adjusted template would surely have a
considerable reduction in the pump price of petrol when it is completed before
the end of the first quarter of next year, stressing that when this is achieved,
there would be no need for subsidy as the import price of PMS would have
reduced considerably.
Rabiu said, “We are engaging industry stakeholders to review the PPPRA
template that actually drives the cost of importation. This is because the actual
cost of PMS minus the retail price of the product is subsidy. So if the cost falls
to N80 per litre today, then where will the need be for subsidy? If the cost is
less than the current retail price of N87 then it means there is no subsidy.
“So we are looking at the template to have it reviewed considering the realities
on ground now in the sector. What if after the review we are able to take away
about N10 from this current template, which today puts the cost of petrol at
N91.52 litre, then it means the cost may come down to around N82 per litre.
“That is why we said there is no need for subsidy in the 2016 budget. We say
this because we know that the price of crude oil will not go so high in the next
12 months because of the high level of saturation in the market. So as soon as
it is appropriate, we will announce a new price for PMS.”