Oil marketers have lamented the negative effects on their enterprises of the nation’s fluctuating premium motor spirit or petrol prices.
Following a recent price battle between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Dangote Refinery, Billy Gilly-Harris, president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) expressed worry.
He claims that the last two weeks’ volatility in petrol prices poses a risk to the viability of its members’ enterprises.
Gilly-Harris’ concern comes on the heels of an ongoing price war between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Following the announcement of a price cut by the Dangote Refinery by N65 at the ex-depot price, the retail price at filling stations affiliated with Dangote dropped from N925-N930 to N860.
No sooner after, the NNPCL also reduced its price at its retail stations, further deepening rivalry between the two dominant players.
Billy-Harris said “In our consistently weekly reviews, we discovered that the size of loss, and the possibility of most of us getting out of business are glaring at us in the face. Because in today’s Nigeria, we have collaborative efforts being made between all the stakeholders, and we reach out to one another to know how the businesses are doing.
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“As much as we are making efforts to make sure that Nigerians have product affordability from our end as the last mile in the industry, we also want to stay afloat and liquid.
“The challenge we have is that we buy products at a price today, and before the close of business, the price has reduced. We thought there should be a mechanism by which prices are analysed and ensure it doesn’t impact negatively on the industry.
“I have always said that every business can only survive by making some minimal profits that are commensurate to the price of paying the cost of doing business.
“We are fully aware that the international prices of crude oil and other related expenses are also being reduced. But when we invest to buy products at, say, N880, we are not going to sell at that price. And if such products become reduced to N840, N850, N860 or even N870 per litre, it becomes challenging how we will be able to recover our costs.”
Commenting on price monopoly in the downstream sector, Gilly-Harris said its members can either import products or buy from local refineries; however, it would not sell products at the expense of the survival of PETROAN members’ businesses.
He said, “Yes, we have been at the forefront of always implementing what stakeholders agree. We have the capacity to import our products. We also have the capacity to buy locally refined products. But we see that prices consistently shift up or down, and there is no clear business consultation on how this should be done. That is why we said the NMDPRA and the consumer protection agency should swing into action and be able to work together with other stakeholders so that we can be able to have a stable market and a stable price.”
