As ridiculous as it may sound, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its downstream subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) are insisting that it has 1.2 billion litres of premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol in stock.
Though the available stock is no where to be found in the country in the past months, management of the corporation still holds that the figure translates to 31 days’ sufficiency on assumption of the 40 million litres daily consumption of the product in the country.
Managing Director of PPMC, Prince Haruna Momoh, who made the disclosure in Abuja Thursday, further stated that 21 additional vessels laden with petroleum products are offshore Lagos waiting to berth. He said NNPC had made adequate arrangements to ensure energy sufficiency in the country and reassured motorists that the noticeable queues at fuel stations would thin out in the days ahead.
Momoh noted that NNPC has 21 days’ sufficiency of Automative Gas Oil (AGO) otherwise known as diesel and 18 days’ sufficiency of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), otherwise known as kerosene.
He announced that as part of efforts to ensure petroleum products’ sufficiency and distribution, NNPC has embarked on aggressive reception depots rehabilitation in 2011, adding: “As at today, 18 out of the 23 depots have been fully recovered with the exception of Makurdi, Yola and Maiduguri due to the activities of pipeline vandals.”
The PPMC MD disclosed that the corporation suffered petroleum products losses worth N40.8 billion through pipeline vandalism in 2014, stressing that no business could survive such a loss and still remain a going concern.
Momoh noted that there was a marginal increase in pipeline vandalism, stressing that in 2013, the corporation recorded 3,517 vandalised points but in 2014 the figure increased to 3,774.
He said that 97 pipeline vandals are undergoing prosecution but regretted that since the cases started a few years ago, none of the accused persons has been convicted for economic sabotage.
He called on Nigerians from all walks of life, especially those living in communities where the pipelines run through, to protect the pipelines in the national interest.
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