FBN, Polaris, three others cut NNPCL petrol import monopoly
The first batch of petrol imported by an independent market and bankrolled by the consortium of five banks– First Bank of Nigeria, Polaris Bank, Union Bank, Access Bank and Fidelity Bank has arrived Nigeria. This effectively ends the monopoly of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on oil importation.
According to a report, a vessel had conveyed the first batch of the expected 27 million litres of petrol import belonging to Emadeb Energy. The independent marketer said the import cost it and its financial partners a whopping $17m (about N13b).
The government had encouraged investors to take to petrol importation, with the expectation that it will drive a competitive market and, hopefully, force petrol price currently selling at N617 per litre down.
An NNPCL official, Sadiq Bashir, said at the ceremony unveiling the imported petrol that the involvement of private investors meant that petrol “prices would now be determined by market dynamics.”
He said Nigeria “would experience teething problems at first; however, if market forces are allowed to come into play, prices would eventually go down due to high competition. We assure that NMDPRA would continue to ensure quality control of products being sold to the public.”
