Abuja Fuel Queues Disappear, NNPC Pumps 67 Million Litres

Following the release of around 67 million liters of PMS by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to marketers on Wednesday, the lines for Premium Motor Spirit, often known as petrol, abruptly disappeared across the majority of Abuja, Niger, Nasarawa, and other states.

On Wednesday, virtually all of the main gas stations—which frequently had long lines—were observed dispensing fuel to the cars spotted in their various outlets.

This comes as the NNPC disclosed that some of its 67 million liters daily supply of PMS was being smuggled not just by trucks to neighboring nations, but also through marine boats.

At a meeting with stakeholders in Abuja, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Mele Kyari provided an explanation of the petroleum supply data for the nation since January 2022.

“Anytime we go down below 60 million litres of evacuation consistently for more than three days, we’ll have a crisis across the country.”

“We know that there may be no valid so-called consumption figure, but we know the evacuation figure. Anytime the evacuation figure goes below 60 million litres daily, you’ll have a crisis.

“Remember, early in 2022 when we had the contaminated fuel, evacuation came down to 56 million litres on average and we had a crisis. We managed to ramp up by adding volumes to the market to fill the gaps. So, we achieved normalcy.

“I recollect, in October, when the flooding happened, trucks could not go to their destinations, particularly moving from the South into the North and our evacuation went below 60 million, and you can remember what happened.”

Since then, according to Kyari, NNPC has done everything in its power to maintain supply or evacuation over 60 million liters on a constant basis. Kyari contended that there is no lack of fuel entering the market; rather, the products may be traveling in the incorrect place.

“One thing that is also very practical is that Nigeria’s fuel is smuggled to other countries. This is not a secret. But it can only be done by either all of us in this room or people buying from us.”