The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria has proposed measures to cushion the impact of rising crude oil prices driven by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as global oil prices continue to fluctuate.
Brent crude rose 2.9 per cent to $102.84 per barrel on Tuesday, a day after plunging more than 10 per cent following comments by Donald Trump about delaying fresh strikes on Iran while praising “very good” talks with Tehran.
In Nigeria, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery recently announced a fresh increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit from N1,175 to N1,245 per litre, with the refinery explaining that the adjustment reflects prevailing global market conditions.
PETROAN National President Billy Gillis-Harry, speaking on The Morning Brief on Channels Television on Tuesday, outlined several measures that could help mitigate the effects of rising oil prices.
“The meeting between Dangote and the president is on point, and if I had an opportunity to meet with the President, I believe I would be talking about those palliatives the government can put in place to cushion the effects of soaring oil prices,” he said.
“In the interim, what I will suggest is that, could there be some sort of subsidy to cushion the effects of transportation costs for transport owners, especially commercial transport owners.”
Gillis-Harry also emphasised the need to pursue gas alternatives as a long-term solution.
“What we should be looking at today should be solutions and not to cry on the shoulders of this war. One of those things will be a total pursuit of one of our gas alternatives, because we have gas, so it’s not like we are going to import gas from anywhere.”
He added that PETROAN is already in talks with the government on gas penetration across the country.
The PETROAN president dismissed suggestions that marketers were exploiting Nigerians following the rise in petrol prices.
“For us in PETROAN, the profit margins are still very meagre at this time. The size of what we sell at the pump does not translate to the profit margins we make, because we are still very mindful that we need products in our stations.”
He added: “We are not taking undue advantage of the situation. We have even come out with the idea of crowd-buying to get as many products as possible to as many outlets.”
Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote met with President Bola Tinubu on Monday to discuss the implications of the volatile global oil market. Speaking after the meeting, Dangote said Nigeria would inevitably feel the effects of the crisis despite not being directly involved in the conflict.
“It means quite a lot. We don’t have much to do with it, but I know the world is a global village. And it definitely will affect us, unfortunately, but we pray this situation will be sorted out,” he said.
International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol warned that the crisis could pose a major risk to the global economy.
“This crisis, as things stand, is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together. The global economy is facing a major, major threat today, and I very much hope that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible,” Birol said.
“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction. So there is a need for global efforts.”
