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The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Petroleum), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has tasked the Nigeria Middle and Lower Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to ensure that petroleum marketers do not exploit Nigerians through excessive pricing under the deregulation of downstream petroleum markets.
The Minister gave the directive in Abuja on Monday while delivering a keynote address at the NMDPRA General Counsel and Legal Counsel Forum.
The theme of the two-day forum is: “Beyond Compliance: Driving Regulatory Certainty and Investment Confidence in the Nigerian Petroleum Sector.”
Lokpobiri said even though the downstream sector has been completely deregulated, regulators must ensure that deregulation does not become an opportunity to profiteer at the expense of consumers.
According to him, following the easing of tensions in the Middle East and decline in global crude oil prices, Nigerians are expecting a decline in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popularly known as petrol.
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However, this has not happened, as refiners and marketers continue to sell gasoline at high pump prices despite a significant decline in crude oil prices from a high of $120 per barrel to around $72 per barrel last week.
He said: “After tensions between Iran and the United States eased, we expected there would be a commensurate downward adjustment in the prices of PMS and other petroleum products. However, this has not happened.
“While we believe that market forces will eventually restore balance, regulators also have a legal responsibility to ensure that deregulation does not become a path to profiteering. This must be done in line with existing provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act.”
The minister also tasked the agency to intensify monitoring to ensure consumers receive the correct amount of fuel purchased at gas stations.
‘What do regulators do?’ Lokpobiri asked
He said: “Apart from leaving prices to be determined by market forces, the question is: what are regulators doing to ensure that consumers receive the right amount of product? When someone pays for 10 liters of Premium Motor Spirit, they should receive exactly 10 liters, not less.”
