Yemisi Izuora
The Major Oil Marketers Association, MOMAN, has said that shortage of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK),should be blamed on inability of marketers to access foreign exchange to augument importation of petroleum products.
The marketers, said that the situation has also defeated the Government’s intention of making Nigeria the aviation hub of the sub-region.
Chief executives of major oil marketers who met recently to review the downstream sub-sector of the oil industry noted that non allocation of Foreign Exchange to bring in petroleum products prompted the intermittent tightness in the supply of aviation fuel to airlines.
According to a communique issued at the end of the meeting and signed by Thomas Obafemi Olawore, Executive Secretary/CEO MOMAN, said “It is a statement of fact that there is serenity in the supply of petroleum situation in the country and appreciation must be given to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the NNPC and all other stakeholders including transporters, dealers and OMCs”.
The communique further said, “We note that there are some few glitches here and there and we call on the regulatory agencies to face these challenges with a view to nipping all nefarious activities associated with supply and distribution in the bud.
Unknown to the general public, the private sector has depended on foreign exchange supplied into the system by the IOCs through the intervention of the Hon. Minister of State Petroleum Resources. In order for the private sector to continue to play their role in the importation of PMS the Dollar/Naira parity should stay at a level that will ensure that the open market price band of N135 – N145 is maintained.
This is especially so because the CIF price of petrol is rising in the international market. Today it is approximately $548 per ton.
They also noted with trepidation the deplorable condition of roads and praised the effort of NARTO/PTDU in ensuring delivery of product even if they are delivered late.
“We urge haulers to continue to monitor the activities of bad eggs among them. We also urge the government to quickly fix the roads which have become traps leading to loss of lives and properties.
We wish to draw the attention of stakeholders and regulators to safety regulations especially in the gross tonnage of tankers and the ability of the road to absorb the weight of loaded tankers.
We also wish to appeal to the Government to reduce the import duty on these haulage trucks to enable transporters meet the new replenishment policy which forbids engagement of old or used trucks. The safety implications of not replenishing aging truck fleet cannot be over-emphasized” the meeting added.