The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said on Tuesday that it spent $5.8 billion on petrol imports since late 2017, as it combats a petrol shortage that has left people queuing for hours at filling stations.
“The corporation’s intervention became necessary following the inability of the major and independent marketers to import the product because of the high landing cost which made cost recovery and profitability difficult,” the announced in an official statement.
The relatively cheaper cost of Nigerian petrol combined with crude oil price rises in the last few months mean smugglers can make more money selling fuel intended for the Nigerian market across borders, creating shortages in Nigeria. Also its poor refineries means it is almost wholly reliant on imports for the 40 million litres per day of petrol it consumes.
- Reuters