Babajide Okeowo
The price of Premium Motor Spirit, (PMS) popularly known as petrol is set to rise to N168 to N170 per liter following the decision of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to increase the ex-depot price of PMS to N155.17 per liter from N147.67 per liter.
This was disclosed in an internal memo with reference number PPMC/C/MK/003, dated November 11, 2020, signed by Tijjani Ali which was sighted by The Nigerian Xpress.
In its PMS price proposal for November, the PPMC put the landing cost of petrol at N128.89 per liter, up from N119.77 per liter in September/October. The new ex-depot price will 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.
As a result of the increase in ex-depot price, the price of petrol is expected to increase to N168-N170 per liter.
The National Operation Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Mike Osatuyi confirmed that the over N7 increase in ex-depot price would translate into an increase in pump prices.
“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 liter. Crude oil price is going up,” he said.
Recall that following the deregulation of petrol prices in September, marketers across the country adjusted their pump prices to between N158 and N162 per liter to reflect the increase in global oil prices.
The petrol price band had also risen from N121.50–N123.50 per liter in June to N140.80-N143.80 in July and N148-N150 in August.
Recall also that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, had disclosed 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.
