Fuel Scarcity: We Will Supply Only What We Have, Say Oil Marketers

Petroleum Oil marketers in Nigeria have attributed the current fuel scarcity in the country to the lingering logistics challenges.

The President of Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, stated this in an interview on Channels Television. According to him, oil marketers were currently supply-constrained and could distribute only what they had.

“I think until we get our supply challenges sorted out efficiently and abundantly, we will not be able to get out of this circle.

I believe you must have heard the NNPC’s communications director who explained that the issues at stake are still logistics-related.

So until they get that resolved, we may just be managing the little they bring, and give to us to distribute among our members.

NNPCL is doing its best to bring in products bit by bit, and we can only supply what we have.”

On what the logistics challenges were, he said

“The logistics issue is about ship-to-ship transfer. Until the ship gets products, it cannot deliver to any of the depots. And until depots have products, we the retailers cannot also have access to products,”

He, however, assured that marketers were in talks with the NNPCL oversupply challenges

“We have been speaking with NNPCL. We encourage them to do more, and I can assure you that they are trying their best,” he said

Nigerians have been experiencing fuel scarcity in recent times. The scarcity started in Lagos in late July and has now spread across many states in the nation. The scarcity has led to some fuel stations selling fuel as high as N1050 per litre.