Petroleum marketers operating at the downstream sector have lamented that the deregulation in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and the continued drop in the value of the Naira against the Dollars have drastically brought down the demand for products at petroleum tank farms in Lagos.
Random checks carried out by Shipping Position Daily last week revealed that fuel is available at almost all the tank farms that are accredited to distribute, however the turnout of tankers was very low.
Speaking with Shipping Position Daily, one of the marketers; Mr. Morris Oseghale lamented that the activities of the money market has been affecting the downstream negatively on daily basis. He noted that this has forced the depot price of diesel to increase from N110 per litre to N160 per litre as.
According to Oseghale, any marketer who has paid for products but is yet to bring in his truck into the tank farm will be required to pay addition money as differentials.
“There has been a negative effect of the rising exchange rate on the downstream sector, the price of diesel is over N200 per litre now at filling stations, before now, diesel was sold for N110 at depots and sold for N150 at fuel stations, but now at depot, it is sold at N160 and now it is sold for N200 to the consumers, it is not a good story”
“Any marketer who has paid for products before the fluctuation will now have to add more money to the one he has deposited, provided he has not entered with his truck. He will be asked to pay the balance and differentials”
“Diesel price now follows the exchange rate fluctuations. We are waiting for all the small refineries to come up so that we can get stabilized” he said.
Another marketer, Mr. Olanife Adeoye, pointed out that even though petrol is supposed to be sold for N145 at the fuel stations, many of the stations have adjusted their meters.
Olanife also confirmed that the demand for PMS at the depot has reduced drastically.
He said “when the final deregulation was done, fuel was sold at filling station for N145 per litre; despite this, some of the fuel stations adjusted their pumps and were not giving us complete measures”
“Luckily for us now the demand for PMS has become so low, people with two to three cars are now managing one car, most people have equally abandoned their generator sets and they now prefer the darkness”
“There is low turnout at the filling stations now, you will hardly see more than a vehicle at a time, and this is now forcing the demand to come down. There is product, but the demand is low now at the depots”
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