The Federal Government on Monday balmed the petroleum marketers for the recent increase in petrol pump prices across the country.
According to the government , it is still paying subsidy on imported Petroleum products.
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva in Abuja during a stakeholders’ consultation forum on regulations organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA).
He said, “I can tell you authoritatively, we have not deregulated. The government is still subsidizing petrol prices. If there are increases in price, it is not from the government,” he told Journalists.
Sylva maintained that increased prices implemented in the last two weeks were “probably from the marketers”.
“I will talk to the Authority to ensure that they actually regulate the price. This is not from the government, we have not deregulated.”
Meanwhile, Fuel scarcity there has been fuel scarcity bad hike in price of product nationwide despite the assurances by government to resolve the challenge.
On the other hand, Marketers had blamed the high cost of buying petrol at the depots and the high cost of diesel for their trucks as major factors responsible for the scarcity being experienced recently.
Justifying the increase in price, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) insisted members could not sell at the government-regulated price given increased costs.
Truthlive.net recalls that in July, marketers increased the pump price of petrol with several stations selling the product above N165 a litre.
However, the Minister did not reveal why the government has failed to enforce its price.
“The queues in Abuja are going but I don’t know whether you are seeing more queues but a lot is being done,” he said.
“I noticed that the queues are already disappearing. There are some issues, I believe that the authority chief executive of NMDPRA will be in a better position to explain some of the problems.
“But a lot is going on to ensure that the queues end. As of yesterday, I noticed that the queues in Abuja are easing off,” he added.
Furthermore, he said, regulations in the midstream and downstream petroleum regulations will accelerate investments in the sector.
“The regulations, which have been shared with stakeholders for review and input, would boost local and foreign participation in the sector.”
He explained that the regulations under review include the midstream and downstream petroleum (operations) regulations; petroleum pipeline regulations; gas pricing domestic demand and delivery regulations; natural gas pipeline tariff regulations; midstream and downstream decommissioning and abandonment regulations; among others.
“We are now at the point of engagement and interaction with a view to issuing regulations that would benefit all stakeholders,” he said.
“With the creation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021, the authority was saddled with the responsibility of technically and commercially regulating both the midstream and downstream operations in the sector.”
The review was in line with the provisions of sections 33 and 216 of the PIA.
According to Sylva, this mandated NMDPRA to consult with relevant stakeholders prior to finalising regulations concerning the processing, refining, transmission, distribution, supply, sale and storage of petroleum products, or any other matters deemed expedient.
“This administration understands the need to have an all-encompassing, well thought-out, and unambiguous regulatory instrument that is painstakingly developed to meet the present and future aspirations of the government.
“The regulations are required to attract much-needed investments and create opportunities in the sector; hence the need for stakeholders’ participation and engagement in developing regulations, processes and procedures.
“Prior to this event, the authority has initiated and proposed 10 different regulations which span operations, pricing and environmental management, in line with its statutory mandate.
“Whilst noting that the current state of our local energy landscape is dire and is in need of ingenious solutions, we have an opportunity to ameliorate the situation through these sets of regulatory instruments,” he added.
The minister added that the regulations would promote and build investors’ confidence, improve foreign and indigenous participation in these sectors, and optimise value for all stakeholders.
NMDPRA had, in May, announced that it was drafting regulations on the midstream and downstream operations of the oil and gas sector to “boost local refining.”