The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) are anticipating a slight decrease in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, once production begins at the Port Harcourt Refining Company next month.
Both associations expressed their readiness to commence product loading from the facility and urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to fulfill its commitment to releasing refined products from the plant within two weeks.
Following an announcement by the Group Managing Director of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, that the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations in approximately two weeks, IPMAN’s National President, Abubakar Maigandi, confirmed that marketers were prepared to start lifting products. Maigandi highlighted that with the commencement of production, the cost of petrol would decrease marginally, anticipating a positive impact on availability and pricing.
Similarly, MEMAN’s Executive Secretary, Clement Isong, affirmed that major oil marketers had been procuring products from NNPCL’s trading arm and would continue to do so once products from the refinery were available. Isong emphasized that while the facility might not meet the entire demand for petrol, MEMAN would procure refined products through NNPCL’s trading arm.
Kyari previously informed the Senate that over 450,000 barrels of oil had been stocked in the Port Harcourt refinery, signaling its readiness to deliver refined crude to the market. Despite the Federal Government’s announcement in December 2023 regarding the mechanical completion of the refinery, the production of refined petroleum products from domestic refineries has been eagerly awaited, as Nigeria currently relies on imports facilitated by NNPCL.
