No fuel hope in sight
The worsening fuel queues experienced in Abuja and some other cities may not wear out soon, given the signals coming from the federal government.
What signal?
On Wednesday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, again blamed the forces of deregulation and the distribution system, which is largely controlled by independent oil marketers, for the difficulties associated with fuel supply. According to him, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) has secured enough supplies of fuel products, but marketing companies determined to defraud the public by hiking prices are mostly to blame for the situation.
Problems On Many Fronts
Nigeria, meanwhile, may not be able to fulfill its OPEC quota in September as a result of the country losing 20% of its daily crude production to pipeline vandals and escalating crude oil theft. The Group Chief Executive Officer, Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu, said this at the 2022 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) conference and exhibition on Tuesday in Abuja. This is as the FG also disclosed that the country lost an astounding $1b in revenue in the first quarter of 2022.
In order to address the crisis, Tinubu urged the FG and other stakeholders to work together. He added that implementing sabotage detection technology, on-ground, and aerial surveillance, as well as community policing, will help to contain the problems. “There has been a 43% reduction in our production from March 2020 to May 2022″, Tinubu said, adding that “basically some three million barrels on an average yearly is lost to oil theft and pipeline vandalism.”
