Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has increased the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to N155.17 per litre from N147.67 per litre.
This was contained in a internal memo by the PPMC with reference number PPMC/C/MK/003 and dated November 11, 2020.
PPMC’s Manager (Marketing), Tijjani Ali R., signed the memo that was addressed to the EDC.
According to the memo, the new ex-depot price would take effect from Friday, November 13, 2020.
The ex-depot price is the price at which the product is sold by the PPMC to marketers at the depots.
In its PMS price proposal for November, the PPMC reportedly put the landing cost of petrol at N128.89 per litre, up from N119.77 per litre in September/October.
It stated that the estimated minimum pump price of the product would increase to N161.36 per litre from N153.86 per litre.
National Operation Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Mike Osatuyi, according to a report, said the over N7 increase in ex-depot price would translate into an increase in pump prices.
He was quoted to have said,l that “the implication of the increase in the ex-depot price is that there is going to be an increase in the pump price. We are expecting the pump price to range from N168 to N170 per litre. Crude oil price is going up,”
The implication of this, according to feelers from sundry quarters in the industry, is that the Federal Government has fully deregulated petrol prices.
Following the deregulation of petrol prices in September, marketers across the country adjusted their pump prices to between N158 and N162 per litre to reflect the increase in global oil prices.
Petrol price band had also risen from N121.50–N123.50 per litre in June to N140.80-N143.80 in July and N148-N150 in August.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said in September that the government had stepped back in fixing the price of petrol, adding that market forces and crude oil price would continue to determine the cost of the product. (Additional reports from The Punch)
