The ever-rising prices of goods and services have already burdened millions of Nigerians, but the petrol scarcity that hit Nigerians has worsened a precarious situation; BENJAMIN UMUTEME writes.
As Nigerians were celebrating that the perennial December fuel scarcity did not rear its ugly head, little did they know that it was going to be a February of pains and agony.
And, indeed, like a bolt out of the blue, motorists woke up one morning to discover that queues had started building up at fuel stations with no clear cut explanation from any quarter except the usual ‘we are expecting products’ from filling station attendants. And gradually, as the queues increased, it became obvious that there was something that Nigerians were not being told.
And the bubble burst
However, it did not take long and the bubble did burst as on February 8, 2022, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) confirmed the importation and distribution of petrol with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification. And to further rub salt into injury, MRS Oil Nigeria came out on February 9, 2022, to announce that it received sub-standard petrol from Litasco, the Swiss trading arm of Russia’s Lukoil.
Methanol is a regular additive in petrol, and it is usually blended in an acceptable quantity. It is a clean-burning, high octane hydrocarbon blending component for gasoline that is made from alternative non-petroleum energy sources such as natural gas, coal, and biomass.
According to NMDPRA, the consignment was received through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at the end of January and 37,000 tonnes were delivered to multiple retailers across the country.
The company explained that after delivery into the tank, it was observed that the product appeared hazy and dark. Then an analysis of the petroleum product revealed that the PMS discharged by MT Nord Gainer had 20% methanol.
“NNPC through their trading arm Duke Oil supplied a cargo of PMS (petrol) purchased from international trader Litasco and delivered it with Motor Tanker (MT) Nord Gainer,” the company said in a statement.
NNPC fires back
Not wanting to be outdone, the Group Managing Director, NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, told journalists that MRS, Duke Oil, OandO, and Emadeb imported the adulterated fuel that was responsible for the “present fuel scarcity being experienced in Nigeria.”
He said after investigations, the company discovered the presence of methanol in four PMS cargoes imported by Direct-Sale-Direct-Purchase (DSDP) suppliers.
“Providing a graphic chronicle of the unfortunate incident, the NNPC CEO said that on 20th January 2022, the company received a report from its quality inspector on the presence of emulsion particles in PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium,” he said.
He added that cargo quality certificates issued at loadport (Antwerp-Belgium) by AmSpec Belgium indicated that the gasoline complied with Nigerian specifications.
“The NNPC quality inspectors including GMO, SGS, GeoChem and G&G conducted tests before discharge and also showed that the gasoline met Nigerian specification,’’ he said.
“It is important to note that the usual quality inspection protocol employed in both the load port in Belgium and our discharge ports in Nigeria do not include the test for Percent methanol content and therefore the additive was not detected by our quality inspectors,” he added.
Denials
In a swift reaction, Emadeb/Hyde/Ay Maikifi consortium, one of the companies fingered by NNPC in the importation of fuel with high methanol content, absorbed itself of any blame, saying one of its consortiums, Brittania-U, was responsible for the importation.
According to Emadeb, Brittania-U was the sole supplier of the 90,000MT of PMS delivered via MT Torm Hilde with laycan January 2 to 4, 2022.
“At the formation of the Consortium in May 2021 by NNPC, Brittania-U refused to execute the Service and Consortium Agreement submitted to NNPC in fulfilment of the award of the DSDP Contract. Emadeb as the lead of the Consortium engaged Brittania-U severally and they insisted on dealing with NNPC independently. NNPC was expressly notified about this by the other Consortium members via a letter dated June 2, 2021.
“In view of the notice of the contaminated product, EMADEB/HYDE/AY MAIKIFI immediately notified Brittania-U via a letter dated February 3, 2022 and also expressly informed NNPC of the sole liability of Brittania U,” it explained.
Mopping up
In order to prevent the continuous distribution of the adulterated petrol, the NNPC CEO said the company promptly ordered the quarantine of all un-evacuated volumes and the holding back of all the affected products in transit (both truck & marine).
Kyari emphasised that defaulting suppliers have been put on notice for remedial actions and NNPC “is working with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA) to take necessary actions in line with subsisting regulations.”
“Our technical team, in conjunction with NNPC Ltd. and other industry stakeholders, will continue to monitor and ensure quality petroleum products are adequately supplied and distributed nationwide.”
According to some marketers, the directive to withdraw the product from the market even after distribution to many filling stations across Lagos and other areas created a supply shortfall, which led to panic-buying.
“As we speak, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd is working to ensure that this disruption to the supply chain is addressed as soon as possible.The NNPC is working with marketers on this and once the depots are restocked, tankers will start loading and supply will improve across the country.”
Motorists’ lamentations, pains
While the debate over who imported the adulterated fuel lasted, the situation at various filling stations remains the same. As the blame-game continues between the regulator and the marketers, most filling stations especially in Lagos and Abuja could not dispense fuel, and the result is the long queues being witnessed at filling stations.
The situation has left many residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) stranded for hours at bus stops as a result of the limited number of commercial vehicles that operated on the roads.
From Kurudu to Nyanya, from Bwari to Berger roundabout, the story remains the same as many now wait for several hours before they can get vehicles to their offices and residential areas.
For Mrs. Caroline, a civil servant, she could only get to her office on Tuesday by 2:00pm.
“When I eventually got to the office my Oga asked me what I came to do in the office. He said I shouldn’t have bothered to come to the office that day. I will not be going to the office again this week if the situation does not improve,” she told this reporter.
While many of the commercial vehicles were stuck in fuel queues, others who had petrol in their vehicles decided to raise their fares by between 70 per cent and 100 per cent.
For instance, routes where passengers usually paid N150 per trip have been raised to N300, while commercial vehicle owners who took N100 for a particular route have increased it to N200.
A marketer, Nnamdi Ikemefuna, said, “Frankly, fuel scarcity has actually had its toll on me. I work in Garki and I move from Lugbe on a daily basis to work.
“But the last one week has been hectic, strenuous and tough getting to work. Usually, from Lugbe to Area 1 costs N150; yesterday and today it moved to N250 and N300, respectively.
“When I say N300, it’s actually for coaster buses not the normal taxis. There were no taxis on the ground because many of them were not able to get fuel. The gridlock caused by fuel queues sited along the road also made things more difficult.
“I am left with no option than to board the vehicle at such a high rate because for me, I really need to get to work. The cost of transportation has doubled.”
For Joseph Ajayi who works as a mechanic at Berger, he had exhausted his money halfway into the journey, and would have to trek following his decision to break the trip since he could not get a direct vehicle that he would board from Kuje to Berger.
Ajayi said, “I am tired of the whole situation. From Julius Berger to Kuje I paid N600 instead of N350. The whole fuel thing is annoying.”
A motorist told Blueprint Weekend that some filling stations that had fuel deliberately did not want to sell. Another motorist said he had been at the Shafa filling station, at CBN junction in Karu, a satellite town in the FCT, for over five hours, when this reporter got to the fuel station at 2:00pm Tuesday afternoon.
“How can people be this heartless? There is fuel but they deliberately don’t want to sell to us. Nigerians are wicked to one another,” he said angrily.
Another citizen yelled out to the man manning the gate to the filling station, “You don’t want to sell to us, you are waiting till midnight when you will sell to the black market people where you will make more money, abi?”
Commuters at Jikwoyi did not find it easy either. A trip from Jikwoyi Phase 2 to Berger, which used to be N200, was hiked to N400 as of Tuesday morning. Even a short drive from Berger to Arab which was N50 became N100.
The driver of a taxi which this reporter boarded told a passenger that asked him why he was collecting N100 instead of the usual N50, “Oga, where do you see fuel?”
NNPC, stakeholders’ responses
To address the situation which was beginning to cripple economic activities, the various players in the industry put heads together. Firstly, the NNPC Ltd started by distributing one billion litres of fuel in its stock to various fuel stations nationwide. This is even as it was expecting 2.3 billion litres of PMS before the end of February. Also, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) directed its members to extend the operations of their jetties, depots, and filling stations to between 18 to 24 hours daily until queues subside across the country.
In addition, the regulator directed all its retail outlets to those of major oil marketers to have commenced a 24-hour service to ensure that more motorists are attended to daily.
Similarly, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot Owners and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) commenced 24 hours loading and dispensing activities in some of their designated outlets. DAPPMAN went a step further as it said it is engaging experts to ensure that off-spec fuel does not find its way into the market again.
Citizens’ angst, commendation
A cross-section of Nigeria has condemned the way the issue was handled by the government with many insisting that entities found to have been responsible for the fiasco should have been sanctioned. However, some others opined that rather than sanctioning the pepertrators, the regulators should learn from the experience to forestall a repeat of what happened.
A civil society group, the Oil and Gas Accountability and Probity Forum (OGAPF), commended NNPC Ltd, for the proactive steps taken to address the situation.
According to OGAPF, but for the swift manner the NNPC handled the dangerous imported methanol blended petrol from Belgium, the damages to the country Nigerians would have been colossal.
Giving kudos to the GMD and his management team, the national chairman of the group, Comrade Douglas, noted that it was the first time in a long while that the NNPC management has been able to rise to a critical occasion that could have caused serious damage and hazards to innocent Nigerians.
“We are known to be very critical about situations and operations in the oil and gas sector, but resolved to come out publicly to commend the Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, for taking up the challenge to inform Nigerians immediately. This step helped to avoid disaster and saved lives and properties of our citizens.
“The impending damaging presence of methanol in the imported PMS already supplied to our filling stations would have caused damage to cars, households and filling stations. For working within the shortest period to withdraw all the products and restore sanity is a feat worthy of commendation.
“How the NNPC boss promptly ordered the quarantine of all un-evacuated volumes and the holding back of all the affected products in transit (both truck & marine) and the directive to immediately relocate key management staff to Lagos in search of sustainable solutions was the magic wand.”
A public affairs analyst, James Akpofure, in his view, said the situation “is a warning that NNPC and other regulators of the sector should increase their supervisory efforts to forestall a repeat.”
“The NNPC should not just take it for granted that companies would do the right thing, they should be able to monitor from the point of loading to the point of discharging so that Nigerians do not wake up one morning to hear that ‘bad fuel’ is in the country again,” he said.
As Nigerians go into the weekend, many are confident that with the steps taken by NNPC and its allies, the beginning of another working week will witness motorists drive into any filling station and purchase fuel without hassles.
