The estimated cost of landing Premium Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, on Nigeria’s shores, has seen a considerable reduction of N36, dropping to N900.28 per litre on Thursday, The PUNCH reports.
According to the latest data released by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, the landing cost dropped from around N936.75 per litre, which marketers spent to import products last Thursday, representing a decrease of 3.62 per cent.
Earlier this week, the price had dropped to N890.43.
This was as fresh findings showed that oil marketers imported 90,308 metric tonnes of fuel between Tuesday, December 10, 2024, and Friday, December 13, 2024.
Going by the conversion rate of 1,341 litres to one metric tonne, it, therefore, implies that the marketers brought in about 121.1 million litres of petrol within three days.
The decline in landing cost, which reflects the price of importing and distributing the product, indicates some relief in terms of global market fluctuations and supply chain factors. However, the retail price of petrol in Nigeria is N1,060.
Crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates are the major factors that determine the cost of refined petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, and kerosene, among others.
Earlier this week, crude oil refiners and other players in the downstream sector stated that the dollar charges on locally refined Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, coupled with the cost of importing crude are major reasons for the high cost of the product when compared to imported PMS.
The price of petrol produced by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, according to dealers on Thursday, was N970/litre. Oil marketers had also stated earlier that the price of refined petrol from Port Harcourt Refining Company was N1,030/litre.
The development suggests that imported fuel, excluding regulatory fees, is less expensive than domestically refined products.
An analysis of the data released by major marketers showed that the daily spot price of estimated import parity into tank costs was N900.28 from N890 recorded on Wednesday, while a 30-day average price was reduced to N945.23 on Thursday from N946.38 on Wednesday and N958.89 recorded last week.
Brent crude oil price was benchmarked at $73.52 per barrel from $72.06 per barrel it traded the previous day and an exchange rate of N1,533 per dollar. Ex-depot price range in Lagos remained between N970 and N1,050.
Meanwhile, oil marketers, taking advantage of this price reduction, have imported a total sum of 121.1 million litres to meet domestic supply.
Our correspondent, utilising documents obtained from the Nigerian Port Authority on Thursday, observed that the products were conveyed in four vessels and berthed at the Apapa Port in Lagos State, Warri Ports, Onne Port in Rivers State, and the Calabar Port in Cross Rivers State.
A major marketer, AYM Shafa, taking advantage of the low price, imported 15,000mt, representing 21.12m litres of petrol, on Tuesday, December 10. The ship, named Stellar, berthed at the Warri port at 12:01 am and was handled by Agent Peak shipping.
An analysis of the document also showed that on Thursday, December 12, 2024, a ship named Kriti Ruby carrying 37,308MT (50.03 million litres) of petrol berthed at the Apapa port at 2.06 pm. The vessel had West Atlantic Port Services as its agent and was handled at the ASPM jetty terminal.
Another ship named St Lady Meenah berthed at the Rivers port at 3:45 am on Thursday carrying 23,000mt of PMS representing 30.84m litres. The ship was handled by ULOB at the Bitumen Jetty.
Similarly, another vessel named Virgo 1 will bring in 15,000MT (20.12 million) of refined fuel today (Friday) by 4:10 pm at the Calabar port. The agent, Waps, will handle the vessel at the Dozzy Oil and Gas Services Terminal.
The continued importation of petrol is contrary to a public announcement by some group of marketers who earlier stated their intention to halt petrol imports and focus on domestic supply.