Petrocam Boss Urges FG to Address NNPC’s Wide Margin Advantage over Competitors in Petrol Marketing

•Says VAT removal on LPG price not yet implemented

•Company opens new filling station along Lagos-Ibadan expressway

Peter Uzoho

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Petrocam Trading Nigeria Limited, Mr. Patrick Ilo, has called on the federal government to urgently address the wide margin in petrol prices being enjoyed solely by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to the disadvantage of its competitors in the business.

The oil marketer made the call yesterday, at the inauguration of Petrocam’s new retail outlet located within the neighborhood of the popular Redeemed Camp, along the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State.

He spoke against the background of the continuous yearning by petroleum marketers for full deregulation of the petrol marketing business and total abolition of subsidy regime, revealing that the implementation of the removal of Valued-Added Tax (VAT) on imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) was yet to happen.

He argued that government needed to be more concerted in ensuring that there was a better level playing ground that grants all the operators, both NNPC and the private players equal opportunity in the industry.

He further argued that a situation where NNPC was not coming clean and clear about their pricing method when it was in the same market with others was not acceptable.

Although, President Bola Tinubu had announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, which led to the surge in prices from then N185 to the current N617 and above, the pump price still falls below the actual international market price.

Industry players and analysts had repeatedly posited that the current petrol price in Nigeria when factored against the landing cost and other market fundamentals could rise to between N700 to N800 per litre.

In its latest Nigeria Development Update released on December 13, 2023, the World Bank, which hailed the fuel subsidy removal as a key policy that would drive economic growth in the country, had however, suggested that fuel pump price should be N750 per litre as opposed to the current N617 per litre.

But speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the company’s retail outlet opening, the Petrocam boss called for the resolution of the undue price margin, which he argued NNPC had over other players.

Ilo stated, “Government needs to actually be more concerted. There should be a better level playing ground. A situation where NNPC is not coming clean and clear about how they are doing their pricing while we are all in the same market is not acceptable.

“We are in a commodity market. Price differences between competition A and B should just be marginal. Where there is a much larger margin between what A and B sells, then there is no transparency. Government should come clear. Government should not compete in a way that will undermine private sector. We are borrowing from the banks.

“Our bottom line is important and if we make losses, we all go down. Government is not in the business of doing business. And the best they should do is to get out of business. They should be regulators and not business people.”

On the issue of removal of VAT on imported LPG, popularly known as cooking gas, he said that was yet to happen.

Ilo, maintained that the policy still exists, saying as a policy statement they hoped it would soon be implemented by government, arguing that once done, the policy could lead to the crash of LPG price.

“And I am so sure, after a period of time, we are going to pass all this to customers. Prices are coming down. We want people to live a better life. Cooking should be a good experience.

“Nobody in this country should go hungry. And we are part of it in making sure we do our best in making sure that we roll down prices all the time. And that’s where we are,” he noted.

While sharing his assessment of the downstream sector for 2023, Ilo stated that the petroleum marketing business was in an undulating period like any other business.

He explained that the stakeholders were actually catching up with new policies, pointing out that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had just started and everybody was adjusting to it.

He said the industry was vibrant and that things were going to happen differently.

Adding that government was doing its best to reposition the sector, the oil marketer stated that they were going to plug into the beauty of what government’s initiatives, forecasting that the industry would be more super in 2024.

 “There is going to be a level playing ground for everybody and competition will be strengthened and the best is for the customers. We are here for customers. I would like to see an increase in the pump price. It can increase. It can decrease because it has to leverage on international market price”, Ilo stated.

Speaking on the new retail outlet strategically built by Petrocam to serve teeming commuters on one of Nigeria’s busiest expressways, as well as residents of the community, Ilo said the multi-mega station has the facilities needed to serve many customers at a time.

With 18 pumps in the outlet, he said each terminal dispensing pumps could fill two cars at a time, adding that products ranging from petrol, diesel, kerosene, LPG and lubricants were available at the station.

“It’s a ritual. This is what we know how to do best and we’ve been doing this now and again. So it’s nothing new to us. Something very new and unique is that it’s more spiritual because we are in front of the Redeemed Camp where a lot of people come and take blessings. And it’s very significant.

“And we believe that because it is in an ordained area, we are sure that we will make profit. It is God that teaches us how to make profit and we shall do it here,” he explained.