Suppliers of Aviation fuel popularly called Jet A1 under the aegis of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria says, Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, lied about the price of aviation fuel.
While the AON says, Jet A1 is sold at N700 per litre, the marketers says, a litre sold by them in Lagos is between N540 and N550 per litre while across other airports between N570 and N580.
According to a statement signed by the Chairman, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Olumide Adeosun says, “the escalating fuel price cycle we find ourselves in is unfortunate, MOMAN wishes to clarify to Nigerians that the situation in Nigeria is not country specific, but a global issue”.
Explaining further, Mr. Adeosun notes that, Aviation fuel (Jet A1), like other petroleum products used in Nigeria is not produced in levels And separately, international traders are exploiting the situation by selling only to the twin shock of increased post pandemic demand and the ongoing sanctions against Russia, a large producer of petroleum products.
“These shocks have seen international country and is subject to international price movements which are currently suffering the trading premiums,costs of vessel freight, and other transport costs skyrocket to worrying highest bidders”.
He empathized with all users of petroleum products; airline operators, private vehicle logistics and distribution is also suffering the impact of these higher costs brought about owners, logistics and transport companies, manufacturers, cooking gas users (in homes) and indeed all members of the public who are affected by the worldwide petroleum products price increases which impact logistics, transportation, distribution, and operation costs.
In other countries in West Africa, the MOMAN Chairman says, verifiable prices of aviation fuel in West Africa range from $1.25 per litre in Ghana to as high as $1.51 per litre in Liberia and even then, the product remains scarce across the sub-region.
He stressed that, in West Africa countries fuel price had remained high and scarce and only through the intervention of Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) has aviation fuel landed into marine terminal tanks in Nigeria at between N480 and N500 per litre as the NNPC uses the nominal Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exchange rate.
“Due to the intervention of NNPC over the last several weeks, aviation fuel is landed into marine terminal tanks in Nigeria at between N480 and N500 per litre depending on the logistics efficiency of the operator. Due to high costs of specific handling of Jet A1 (special transport and continuous filtration), the product is sold on the tarmac at Ikeja (our benchmark), between N540 and N550 per litre and across other airports at between N570 and N580 per litre”.
“During this period of NNPC intervention, as NNPC uses the nominal CBN exchange rate, no independent importer would import aviation fuel as it is unable to access foreign exchange at the same rate, leaving NNPC as the major importer of aviation fuel for now, even though the product is deregulated.”
These interventions Adeosun says, are sometimes necessary to mitigate shocks and help the economy, operating environment and the public adjust to the new realities while efforts are being made and innovations introduced to optimize costs and increase efficiencies.
“These interventions cannot however be permanent in nature”.
“It is our hope that the war in Ukraine comes to a speedy conclusion and the integration of products from the local refineries into the supply chain (Dangote, NNPC and modular refineries) will mitigate the high costs being borne by the government and Nigerians”.
