Petroleum products marketers may soon witness additional costs on retail price of fuel with the introduction of a N500,000 Ship-to-Ship Coordination Charge on trans-shipment operation for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol.
The introduction of the charge was at the instance of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Marine Logistics.
Prior to now, the cost was borne by NNPC, but passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which transformed the NNPC into a limited liability company has given it the leeway to run the company in a cost efficient manner while recovering all cost elements involved in the importation of petroleum products.
The development has however, lead to astronomical hike in ex-depot price of petrol, leaving many marketers, especially the independent ones at crossroads.
In a telephone interview, the Chairman, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) South-West Zone, Mr. Dele Lamidi, said the ex-depot price of petrol as at yesterday (Tuesday) was between 175- N183 per litre as against the Federal Government approved rate of N165. ‘‘When we buy at this rate, and add up other ancillary cost, the product will land at filling stations at N190 per litre. This is the sad reality. So Nigerians should be ready to pay more for petrol since we can’t afford to sell at a loss,’’.