VenturesNow

Nigeria cuts supply to border towns amidst oil smuggling crisis

Published

5 months ago

July 8, 2024

To curb the illegal export of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, from Nigeria to its neighbours, the Nigerian government has sealed three filling stations in border towns and detained five fuel trucks.

Additionally, the fuel supply to various border areas has decreased from 32 million litres per day to roughly 25 million litres in just two months as a result of the government’s ongoing anti-smuggling efforts through the Nigeria Customs Service.

This suggests that throughout the time, about 420 million litres of PMS, worth N294 billion (based on an average price of N700 per litre), did not reach the border states. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited verified the approximately 21.86% reduction in PMS evacuation to border states.

The Nigerian Customs Service’s National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, informed our correspondent that the sealed filling stations and impounded petroleum tankers had been turned over to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority for additional inquiries.

Additionally, he refuted reports that 1,800 gas stations in the North had closed in opposition to the NCS’s ongoing anti-smuggling efforts.

Maiwada responded, “The NCS is still carrying out its anti-smuggling operation effectively and continuously,” when asked if the service was still fighting gasoline smuggling. On the grounds of possible product diversion that could lead to eventual smuggling out of the nation, five fuel tankers were arrested.

Chief Superintendent of Customs Maiwada refuted statements made by IPMAN that the trucks were turned over to the downstream regulator for the oil industry and that the tankers had been given to members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria.

“The detained fuel tankers were not released to IPMAN under pressure. However, the trucks were handed over to NMDPRA for continued investigation with the intervention of the Adamawa State government, as the offence committed was centred on fuel diversion,” he stated.

Regarding the sealed filling stations, he declared, “In Adamawa State, three filling stations have been sealed but not closed. However the three sealed filling stations were also turned over to the NMDPRA so they could do additional research.

“The NMDPRA is expected to transmit its findings and recommendations to the Nigeria Customs Service through the national coordinator to the headquarters.”

Following Nigeria’s elimination of petrol subsidies last year, gas prices increased last year in neighbouring West African countries, rising by more than 40% in all markets assessed.

According to Globalpetrolprices, a think tank that tracks gasoline costs and energy prices, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, and Guinea are among the nations most affected by this trend.

VenturesNow

Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.

VenturesNow

Dangote refinery begins petroleum sales to West Africa

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an indication to traders that the activities of its mega-refinery might soon disrupt regional fuel markets, Nigeria’s private Dangote Petroleum Refinery has started exporting refined petroleum products to neighbouring West African nations.

According to a Bloomberg story on Tuesday, a tanker had transported a consignment of petrol from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to seas off the coast of Togo, a nearby West African nation. The article cited data from Vortexa, Kpler, Precise Intelligence, a port report, and a ship-tracking tool.

According to the source, a CL Jane Austen recently departed west after loading over 300,000 barrels from Dangote.

Recall that Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Authority, stated last month that the nation is thinking of purchasing petroleum products from the Dangote refinery in order to reduce the approximately $400 million it spends each month on more costly exports from Europe.

Speaking at the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference in Lagos, the chairman of NPA, Ghana, said that by eliminating freight expenses, buying from Nigeria instead of Europe will lower the cost of other products and services.

“If the refinery reaches 650,000bpd a day capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so instead of us importing as we do right now from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria and I believe that will bring down our prices,” Hamid said.

Two weeks ago, it was announced that the refinery would start exporting fuel to Namibia, Angola, and South Africa. Four more African nations—Niger Republic, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Central Africa Republic—had also begun talks with the refinery, it was said.

According to a very reliable source who spoke directly to one of our reporters, the management of the refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day was in the advanced stages of negotiations with the nations to begin lifting petroleum.

“I can confirm to you that talks are actually at the advanced stage with Ghana, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, while the initial discussion is coming up with Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic,” the source said.

The petroleum product shipment is currently floating off the coast of Lome, which is a well-liked location for ship-to-ship transfers, according to the source.

Furthermore, the final destination of the cargo of the CL Jane Austen is uncertain.

Despite being off Togo, the region is frequently utilised for ship-to-ship transfers, thus the gasoline may eventually be transported elsewhere.

“While the shipment is tiny in the context of the global gasoline market, it signals the ramp-up of Dangote’s production and the potential to export significant volumes of gasoline beyond Nigeria, which could upend regional markets.”

Last month, the refinery sent its first shipment of petrol by sea to Lagos, a neighbouring commercial centre.

Under the regulatory statute, the Federal Government last month terminated the state-owned oil company’s monopoly on purchasing gasoline from the plant for domestic use, but it has permitted the ongoing importation of fuel from the US and Europe.