Public Relations Officer for the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mohammed Abdul Kudus, has debunked claims of shortage of kerosene in the country. He revealed that there is enough supply to last 77 weeks.
Mr Kudus indicated that there is an appreciable amount of kerosene in the system to be supplied to the general public, although most people have seemingly “moved on from the use of kerosene to other forms of fuel”. He explained that due to this, it has resulted in the “decommissioning of a lot of the pumps” at sales points, thereby disrupting distribution of the product.
“Currently there is no shortage of any of our petroleum product out there at all… It is more of a distribution and supply effect. Kerosene that are generally used, we have a stock capacity of a minimum of 77 weeks. So, we have more than enough stock out there to meet the consumption need of the public. For aviation, we have equally more than enough in stock. We currently are having six weeks supply capacity and so there is no shortage of either the kerosene at all.”
Mohammed Abdul Kudus
Elaborating on the gap in the delivery process, Mr Kudus noted that once suppliers do not get the required patronage of kerosene from individuals, there is the tendency for them to want to close down their pumps. This, he expressed, compels suppliers to shut down some of their supply points out of the system.
“… So, you probably will not be able to get regularly as easy as it would have been for you to be able to supply or get yourself satisfied of that particular product. Probably, that largely is accounting for the seeming shortage of it but the product is in stock… I just wanted to give the assurance that what is in our tanks is enough to really meet the needs of the public for at least 77 weeks. So, we are able to speak confidently from the supply point…”
Mohammed Abdul Kudus
Addressing issues of distribution of kerosene
The NPA PRO highlighted that to remedy the complaint among the public on scarcity of kerosene in the country, there is the need to consult OMCs who largely engage in distribution of the product.
“… It’s pure issues of the market determining it. So, if now the demand is coming up… it came to us as a surprise when the discussion around the possible shortage came up because from our end and what we see and what we have, we know that there’s no cause for alarm at all with regards to its availability. So now, if the discussion is going to be around the distribution of it so the public can have access to it, then I think that that’s going to be another conversation that could arouse the interest of the OMCs to really want to look at it again.”
Mohammed Abdul Kudus
The NPA’s assurance comes in the wake of complaints that there is shortage of kerosene, a subsidised petroleum product used mostly in the rural communities for cooking and lighting.
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