Economy
Global oil price surge put pressure on government to remove daily petrol subsidy of N8.28b

—-NNPC , PPPRA disagree on exact figures of petrol subsidy.
–as PMS landing cost hits N264.65/Litre
The rapid rise in global oil prices to record highs has pushed the subsidy cost being incurred by the Federal Government to N8.28bn daily.
This has therefore put pressure on the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) to remove subsidy on the product which analysts said is consuming more than 50 per cent of its remittances to the Federation Account.
The data also revealed that without subsidy, petrol would be selling for about N300 per litre as the landing cost of the product rose to N276.94 per litre last Friday from N249.42 per litre in July 30.
The Economic Confidential had reported on September 28 that the NNPC spent a total of N905.27bn on petrol subsidy from January to August, citing data from the corporation.
The subsidy, which the NNPC prefers to call ‘value shortfall’ or ‘under-recovery, resurfaced in January this year as the government left the pump price of petrol unchanged at N162-N165 per litre despite the increase in oil prices.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said the federal government’s expenses on petrol subsidy has eaten into the revenue that should have been available to fund the 2021 budget.
He spoke on Thursday when he presented the 2022 appropriation bill at the National Assembly.
He said the government was forced to suspend a further increase in the pump price of petrol due to opposition from the labour unions and other stakeholders.
“The National Assembly will recall that in March 2020, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency(PPPRA) announced that the price of petrol would henceforth be determined by market forces.
“However, as the combination of rising crude oil prices and exchange rate combined to push the price above the hitherto regulated price of 145 Naira per litre, opposition against the policy of price deregulation hardened on the part of labour unions in particular.
“Government had to suspend further upward price adjustments while engaging labour on the subject. This petrol subsidy significantly eroded revenues that should have been available to fund the budget”, observed President Buhari.
The Federal Government had in March 2020 removed petrol subsidy after reducing the pump price of the product to N125 per litre from N145 following the crash in oil prices.
The NNPC, which has been the sole importer of petrol into the country in recent years, has been bearing the subsidy cost since it resurfaced.
The price of crude oil, which accounts for a large chunk of the final cost of petrol, has continued to rise in recent months, with Brent, the international oil benchmark, closing at $82.39 on October 8, up from $77.72 on July 30. It increased further to $83.94 per barrel as of 5:05 pm Nigerian time on Monday.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency(PPPRA) had in March this year released a pricing template that indicated the guiding prices for the month.
The template, which showed that the petrol pump price was expected to range from N209.61 to N212.61 per litre, was greeted with widespread public outcry and was later deleted by the agency from its website.
It was based on an average oil price of $62.22 per barrel, and the landing cost of petrol was put at N189.61 per litre.
Based on the PPPRA template and Platts data, the expected pump price of petrol rose to N299.94 per litre on October 8 from N272.34 per litre on July 30.
The expected retail price of N299.94 per litre and the current pump price of N162 per litre indicate a subsidy of N137.94 per litre as of October 8, compared to N110.34 per litre on July 30.
With daily petrol consumption put at about 60 million litres by the NNPC and a subsidy of N N137.94 per litre, daily subsidy increased to N8.28bn last Friday from N6.62bn on July 30.
The rising price of crude oil pushed the cost of petrol quoted on Platts to $822.75 per metric tonne (N254.25 per litre, using the I&E rate of N414.40/$1) on October 8 from $748.50 per MT (N228.91 per litre) on July 30.
The freight cost increased to $26.77 per MT (N8.27 per litre) last Friday from an average of $21.63 per MT (N6.62 per litre) used by the PPPRA in its March template.
Other cost elements that make up the landing cost include lightering expenses (N4.81), Nigerian Ports Authority charge (N2.49), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency charge (N0.23), jetty throughput charge (N1.61), storage charge (N2.58), and financing (N2.17).
The pump price is the sum of the landing cost, wholesale margin (N4.03), admin charge (N1.23), transporters allowance (N3.89), bridging fund (N7.51), marine transport average (N0.15), and retailer margin (N6.19).
While marketers have continued to stress the need to allow market forces to determine the pump price of petrol and do away with subsidy, it remains uncertain whether the discussions between the Federal Government and labour unions will lead to the deregulation of petrol prices.
Meanwhile, both the NNPC and PPPRA have disagreed on the actual amount which the government is pending as a petroleum subsidy.
According to a source in the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), there exists a difference between the agency’s cost and that of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
A subsidiary of the NNPC, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company(PPMC) is the sole importer of the product.
The NNPC said the source has a higher landing cost than that of the PPPRA. Although the agency had last year announced the deregulation of the product, the Federal Government had recourse to subsidising it when the landing cost became unbearable for the end-users.
The NNPC that termed it under recovery regime has left the pump price at a band between N162 and N165 per litre.
From the PPPRA landing cost of N264.65 per litre, there exists a subsidy or an under-recovery of N102.65 per litre.
In the last few years, many stakeholders within and outside the federal government have called for the scrapping of the subsidy regime for premium motor spirit (PMS), better known as petrol.
Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, in July 2021, advocated the end of fuel subsidy, saying it “costs as much as N150 billion” monthly.
Her comment came four months after Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), had said the company “may no longer be in a position” to bear the “subsidy burden”.
Economy
Ojulari, new NNPCL MD, hits the ground running, assembles new management team as he takes over from Kyari

Funso OLOJO
The new Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Bayo Ojulari, has assembled new management team that will drive the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the petroleum sector shortly after he took over the mantle of leadership from his predecessor, Mr Mele Kyari.
It could be recalled that the appointment of the erswhile NNPCL boss, Kyari was terminated and Ojulari was appointed in his stead with immediate effect.
However, in a brief handover ceremony held at the NNPC Towers, Ojulari commended Kyari for his contributions to the growth of NNPC Ltd and his sterling service to the nation.
He disclosed that the objective of his management was to consolidate on the successes of his predecessor and take the company to the next level.
He said though the targets set for his management were quite enormous, he would be relying on the co-operation of the Management and staff of the company, as well as the counsel of his predecessor to achieve set targets.
“I will be counting on your support. I will need it. I will be coming around to seek your counsel,” Ojulari told Kyari.
Earlier in his remarks, Kyari congratulated Ojulari and thanked the Management and staff of the company for their support while in office.
He pledged to do everything within his power to support the new Management to succeed, stressing that he was only a call away.
Soon after the official handing over ceremony, the new new NNPCL, Mr Ojulari announced the appointment of a new 8-man Senior Management Team .
The team which will be headed by the GCEO, Mr Bashir Bayo Ojulari, has Roland Ewubare as Group Chief Operating Officer; Adedapo Segun as Group Chief Financial Officer; and Olalekan Ogunleye as Executive Vice President Gas, Power & New Energy.
Other members of the team are: Udy Ntia as Executive Vice President Upstream; Mumuni Dagazau as Executive Vice President Downstream; Sophia Mbakwe as Executive Vice President Business Services; and Adesua Dozie, as Company Secretary & Chief Legal Officer.
All appointments are with immediate effect.
Economy
Tinubu sacks Kyari, NNPCL GMD, appoints Ojulari as new CEO, reconstitutes board

Funso OLOJO
Bayo Bashir Ojulari new NNPC GCEO,
Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
During his career, he was chairman and member of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigerian Council) and a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
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