The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, (IPMAN), has disclosed that its members are already severing ties with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL) franchise for cheaper deals.
IPMAN’s spokesperson, Chinedu Ukadike, made this known on Tuesday. The development is not unconnected to the marketer’s search for deals that offer better return on investment amid the ongoing price war between the State-owned oil firm and the Ɗangote Refinery.
It is gathered that filling stations in Lagos, specifically located around Wawa on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, as well as at Ibafo, still along the busy highway, have yanked off the NNPCL franchise from their domain.
Ɗangote Refinery recently announced a reduction in its ex-depot premium motor spirit price to N850 from N950 per litre. The announcement spurred a fresh price war in the downstream sector. Consequently, Ɗangote’s PMS price reduction is said to have spurred petroleum marketers to pull out of their deals with NNPCL and dropped their licence with the state-owned company.
Providing more insight into the development, Ukadike explained that marketers are rebranding and changing their companies’ name from NNPCL because the state-owned oil firm is no longer the sole importer of fuel, and marketers would naturally gravitate to partnership that would yield more returns on investment.
Meanwhile, NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye, is yet to respond to an enquiry on the development as of the time of filing this report.
Recall that the kick-off of Ɗangote Refinery and the recommencement of operations at Port-Harcourt and Warri refineries have impacted Nigeria’s oil sector.
