Cheap petrol is coming, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu predicted yesterday.
His forecast is based on what he described as the competition inherent in the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) price modulation.
He said the price of diesel, which is now 40 per cent down amid surplus supply, was enough evidence that petrol prices will also crash. Petrol is N145 per litre.
Presenting his scorecard on his two years in office in a podcast released to reporters in Abuja, Kachikwu said that “once Nigerians throw their trading skill in it, once competition thrives, the prices will continue to tumble.
“ My guess is that you will see the prices tumble in the next four, five to six months. The market will be more stable and definitely the prices will be lower than what we see today.”
Besides, said the minister, in the last 10 years, this is the first time that the three refineries are working simultaneously, although at 50 per cent of their capacity.
“We expect to put in investment to put them to 90 per cent capacity,” he said.
According to Kachikwu, this is the first time the NNPC group has recorded savings, which could be used to address the refineries alongside the Joint Venture Partners.
The minister noted that this is the first time the government has upgraded the depots. Of the 19, only three are grounded.
He said this is the first time that a government is considering the replacement of the 35-year-old pipelines.
“It has been one massive problem after the other for the sector to stabilise in term of product supply.
To Kachikwu, “the time has come to take on the problem bullishly and that is what we are trying to do”. “So, we believe the ire will be money for infrastructural development in the downstream sector”, he said, adding:
“We believe that a lot of the companies will jump up now and be able to sell at the right prices and not the pump down by the problem of price control and will be able to grow their businesses. We believe that most of them, efficient ones will drive prices southward rather than northward.
“And we believe that almost 200,000 jobs will be created in this sector and over 400,000 jobs will be saved, which would have been lost if we had continued on the path we were in.”
On assumption of office two years ago, Kachikwu said, he inherited a debt of N600billion owed to marketers of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which the Federal Government settled.
