Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has refuted claims that it opposed the recent reduction in the price Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) by Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen Heineken Lokpobiri, at the weekend, commended the NNPCL and TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria Limited joint venture for its contribution to national output.
IPMAN’s rebuttal was in reaction to a post by former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, alleging that IPMAN was protesting against the Federal Government due to the affordability of Dangote and NNPCL fuel .
Omokri had claimed that rather than Nigerians protesting against high fuel prices, oil marketers were instead resisting the price cut.
Dismissing Omokri’s claims, IPMAN insisted that it never opposed the recent fuel price cut, which resulted from the full deregulation of the downstream sector.
The National Vice President, Hammed Fashola, in a statement, yesterday, maintained that the report referenced by Omokri could not have originated from the association, as independent marketers had long championed full deregulation of the oil and gas sector.
He explained, “Let me first educate the public about these two organizations, IPMAN and Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN). IPMAN is an association of independent petroleum marketers in Nigeria. We have been in existence for years and have maintained a long-standing relationship with the government, NNPCL and Dangote.
“The publication is not from IPMAN, and it cannot be from IPMAN because we have always advocated total deregulation of the downstream sector. We understand the concept of deregulation, along with its benefits and consequences. We are never against the reduction of petroleum product prices in the country, as it brings relief to citizens. Moreover, as marketers, lower prices mean reduced working capital for us as well.”
WHEN Lokpobiri visited the Ofon FSO and Egina FPSO, JVs between NNPCL and TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria Limited, at the weekend, he said Ofon FSO and Egina FPSO produce around 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 97,000bpd respectively, describing the contribution as commendable.
While the Egina field is located in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), about 150 kilometres off the country’s coast, situated in water depths ranging from 1,400 to 1,700 metres within the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 130 block.
Lokpobiri said as part of the strategic drive to ramp up crude production, significant efforts had been made to ensure smooth operations for industry players, “and this includes the Executive Orders signed by President Bola Tinubu, and other interventions that support industry players.”
The minister also emphasized the importance of ramping up production to align with the country’s overarching objective of boosting national output.