Petrol supply drops ro 38.7m litres In September
Daily petrol receipts into the Nigerian market dropped to 38.7 million litres in September from 50.5 million litres recorded in August, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has disclosed.
In its fact sheet released Thursday, the Authority said overall supply fell 23 per cent even as consumption of all major petroleum products rose.
Domestic supply dropped 21 per cent to 28.5 million litres per day, while imports fell 30 per cent to 10.2 million litres per day.
It attributed the fall to lower domestic supply and reduced imports as approved permit volumes were being exhausted.
Petrol consumption rose seven per cent to 44.4 million litres daily from 41.5 million litres in August. This was still 88.8 per cent of the 50 million litres per day benchmark.
National petrol stock cover improved slightly to 23.9 days from 22.9 days, but remained 6.1 days short of the required 30-day threshold.
According to the authority, cover had risen for four straight months but had stayed below 30 days since March.
Diesel receipts fell 40 per cent to 8.7 million litres per day, the lowest in 13 months.
NMDPRA tied the decline to low imports and low domestic evacuation amid high prices. Diesel stock cover stood at 49.7 days, a surplus of 19.7 days.
Liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas) cover, it said, was 15.9 days, a 14.1-day deficit. Aviation fuel cover was 53.2 days.
At the Dangote refinery, average capacity utilisation was 105.98 per cent of its 650,000 barrels per day installed capacity.
Petrol out was 47.22 million litres per day, of which 28.5 million litres went to the domestic market and 15.47 million litres to exports. Petrol evacuation ran 3.25 million litres per day below production, lifting closing stock to 366.2 million litres. Exports accounted for 35.2 per cent of petrol evacuation, it said.
It said the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited were not producing, while crude received by domestic refineries fell nine per cent to 0.618 million barrels per day from 0.681 million barrels per day in August.
The authority explained that domestic refining contributed about 65 per cent of national petrol consumption in September, and about 74 per cent of receipts.
It said Dated Brent averaged $116.77 per barrel, gasoline FOB cost $1,234.06 per metric tonne and the exchange rate N1,327.31 to the dollar. Indicative petrol pump prices ranged from N1,369.75 per litre in Ibadan to N1,464.75 in Maiduguri. Lagos was N1,371.01 and Abuja N1,420.01.
Cooking gas receipts rose nine per cent to 4.7 kilotonnes per day, with domestic supply up 50 per cent to 4.5 kilotonnes per day, it said.
It further said total gas supply, including volumes to NLNG, slipped two per cent to 4.822 billion cubic feet per day.
