Drums of oil

Hopes of adequate local refining capacity to augment the high volume of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) imports appear to fading fast as the Crude Oil Refineries Owners Association of Nigeria ( CORAN) has said the N5.80k per liter charge on refined petrol would make the product expensive. Chairman of CORAN, Mr. Momah Oyarekhua, stated this during a live interview on Arise Television at the weekend. Oyarekhua listed the N5.80k  charge to include; N1 evacuation charge payable to Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority ( NMDPRA), N1 per liter off-takers charge,  0.5 per cent of wholesale price and the recently introduced midstream downstream gas infrastructure charge of 0.5 per cent of wholesale price. All of this when put together comes to N5.80k per liter. ‘’Why should we pay N5.80k upfront? This is just like a toll and this will make the product more expensive. Businesses exist to solve problems. We are willing to speak to government to address some of these challenges to business. Dangote refinery, even though, located in the free trade zone, will pay N5.80k per liter on every product. This practice is not sustainable for business survival.