Filling stations in Abuja and its environs have unofficially increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel as scarcity of the product bites harder.

A Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday reported that the fuel stations that had products were selling between N850 and N1,000 per litre, while the black marketers were selling at N1,300 and N1,400 per litre.

NAN reports that in spite of the adjustment, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) maintained its price of N617.

The development has caused long queues at NNPC Ltd. retail outlets at Zone 1, Mega station near Church Gate, Jahi and others along Kubwa Express.

It would be recalled that long queues surfaced in the FCT following low distribution of fuel to different stations due to logistics.

NNPC Ltd. had said in a statement on Thursday that the cause of the scarcity, which they described as “tightness in fuel supply”, had been resolved.

However, along Karshi-Jukwoyi road, Fuel Smart, Mobil, NIPCO and many other independent marketers are selling the product in their fuelling stations between N850 and N1,000.

Conoil and TotalEnergies opposite NNPC Ltd. Towers sell at N660 but with long queues.

At Kubwa, the majority of the fuelling stations are closed because of a lack of the product.

Eterna and Ammasco at the Kubwa second gate, along the Kubwa-Zuba expressway are yet to be supplied with the product.

Only the NIPCO Fuelling Station opposite the Eterna station has fuel but with a long queue.

(NAN)

Port Harcourt Refinery Recommences Operation After Years Of Shutdown

The Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State has recommenced operation in line with the Federal Government’s promise to ensure the production of refined products at the facility in December 2023.

The development is coming after many years of underperformance and turnaround maintenance of the facility. Four of Nigeria’s refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna have a combined capacity to process 445,000 barrels per day (bpd). But they were shut down in 2019.

However, in August, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the Port Harcourt refinery will recommence operations in December.

Lokpobiri said this during an inspection tour of the rehabilitation work at the PHRC Ltd. plant

“Our objective in coming here today is to ensure that in the next few years, Nigeria stops fuel importation. From what we have seen here today, Port Harcourt Refinery will come on board by the end of the year,” he said in August.

The recommencement of operations at the Port Harcourt refinery comes over two years after the Federal Government approved funding of $1.5 billion (1.2 billion euros) to repair one of its biggest oil refineries.

The government chose an Italian firm Maire Tecnimont to carry out the repair work at the Port Harcourt facility which has a capacity of some 210,000 bpd.

“We are happy to announce that the rehabilitation of productivity refinery will commence in three phases,” the then-Minister of Petroleum (State) Timipre Sylva told reporters.

“The first phase is to be completed in 18 months, which will take the refinery to a production of 90 per cent of its nameplate capacity,” said Sylva, adding that the second phase would be completed in 24 months and the third in 44 months.

Despite being Africa’s number one oil producer, Nigeria has relied on imports of petroleum products because of a lack of domestic refining capacity. Fuel shortages are commonplace.

But as part of moves to overhaul the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the government has been working to improve capacity at the country’s under-performing state-owned refineries.

It is hoped that the resumption of refinery activity in the facility and the commencement of a similar exercise at the Dangote Refinery will improve the supply of fuel in Africa’s largest oil producer and allow the country to make savings on refined fuel and other petroleum products.

With the removal of subsidy on fuel, the move is also expected to impact the cost of the product.

NNPC Ltd, TotalEnergies sign MoU on adoption of AUSEA

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TotalEnergies for the adoption and deployment of Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Application (AUSEA) in its upstream operations.

The agreement is a direct benefit from the Company’s participation at the recently concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, UAE.

A statement on Tuesday by Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, stated that with the agreement, the company would be able to deploy the TotalEnergies AUSEA, known as methane detection technology on its upstream operations sites.

This will ascertain the level of methane emissions from them, with a view to working out emission curtailment measures to help in combating global warming and climate change.

The MoU was signed by  Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, NNPC Ltd’s Executive Vice President, Upstream,  and Managing Director and Country Chair, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, Matthieu Bouyer, on behalf of their respective companies.

Putting the deal in proper perspective, the NNPC Ltd’s Executive Vice President, Upstream, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said the pilot phase of the TotalEnergies AUSEA deployment would be on NNPC Ltd’s owned operations.

Eyasan added that the deal would enable the company to deploy methane abatement measures.

Other benefits of the TotalEnergies AUSEA technology include the identification of unaccounted emission sources and the establishment of a basis for querying and improving current emission reporting processes.

It will aid in the provision of data to review the operational system, implement corrective actions, and estimation of flare combustion efficiency.

The agreement was signed under the watch of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné.

Speaking at the event, Kyari described TotalEnergies as a great and reliable partner over the years with whom the company was looking forward to exploring greater opportunities in the nation’s energy sector.

On his part, Pouyanné said his company was offering the technology to NNPC Ltd, in keeping with its commitment to promoting the responsible production of hydrocarbons.

He applauded NNPC Ltd for its successful transition into a limited liability company, stressing that he could feel the energy that the reforms have brought about, not only in the company but also in the sector.

(NAN)