Minister Gives NNPC, DPR Ultimatum On Kerosene

Determined to stop the ongoing artificially induced scarcity and hike in the price of House Hold Kerosene, HHK noticeable in most parts of the country, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke on Thursday issued matching orders to the Managements of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR to restore normal supply as soon as possible.

Speaking during an interactive session with Journalists in Lagos, Mrs Alison-Madueke noted though the country operates a free market economy, the Federal Government cannot watch and fold its arms while innocent Nigerians go through hardship in accessing the vital cooking fuel due to the profiteering activities of some ‘’middlemen’’.

“Checks at the NNPC and its subsidiary, the Pipelines Products Marketing Company, PPMC, indicate that we have enough in terms of product sufficiency. Our investigation shows that kerosene has however become scarce and selling at high price due to distribution problems caused by middlemen who have made it their vocation to profiteer from the product,’’ Mrs. Alison-Madueke stated.

As a way out, the minister charged the Managements of the NNPC and the DPR to bring to an end the ugly situation within the next few days.

Under the arrangement the NNPC through its subsidiary PPMC will ensure that products are loaded out from the three refineries and the coastal jetties to all the nooks and crannies of the country while DPR has the mandate to activate compliance measures and all necessary control strategies to squelch the incidents of arbitrary pricing and sharp practices.

Already the Corporation has swung into action by increasing the volume of HHK allocation from 10 million litres to record 12 million litres per day to guarantee that the country is wet with kerosene.

The 12 million figure is in excess of the national consumption level of about 10 million litres per day.

Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Engr. Austen Oniwon stated during the forum that apart from increasing the daily volume of kerosene, the NNPC in concert with the PPMC has put in place a special Monitoring Committee on kerosene distribution.

Throwing more light on the operation of the task force, Prince Haruna Momoh, Managing Director of the PPMC stated that members of the committee traverse the length and breadth of the nation tracking the movement of kerosene from the refineries and coastal depots – the point of discharge through the tank farms.

Also Mrs. Alison-Madueke clarified issues relating to the reported revocation of oil leases renewal granted ExxonMobil in 2009.

The minister noted that review of the process revealed that the renewal was not properly executed and was therefore not in compliance with the provisions of the Petroleum Act of 1969.

The Act Empowers the Minister of Petroleum Resources to cancel leases that are not properly executed.

However, the minister noted that in view of the harmonious relationship with ExxonMobil over the years and the substantial investments the company has made in Nigeria, “Government has taken the decision to invite Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to express interest in the grant of fresh leases.’’ It is on record that the Petroleum Ministry under the watch of Mrs Alison-Madueke has recorded great strides in the last 12 months in the areas of transformation, the Nigerian content Act, push for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, the implementation of the Gas Master Plan, improved relations with critical stakeholders, improved products supply, serious attention to issues of gas supply to power plants, issues of attraction of new investors to generate employment opportunities for Nigerians, improvement in the domestic usage of LPG, renewal of oil exploration activities in the Chad Basin and commitment to transparency in the industry among other feats.