NNPC may spend N201bn to clean 170.25m litres of substandard fuel

An analysis of the petroleum industry data has revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited may need N201bn worth of clean Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to bring 170.25 million litres of adulterated product imported into the country up to standard.

Punch reported that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority said on Tuesday February 8, that for every 200 litres of the adulterated product, 800 litres of petrol with good quality would be required for the blending that would be done.

Chief Executive Officer, NMDPRA, Mr Farouk Ahmed had also said during a visit to some depots in Lagos on Wednesday February 9; 

“All the off-spec material (product) will re-blended to very good quality, and it will be certified and recertified before it goes into the market. The component that was in excess was methanol; what we agreed was that for every 200 litres of the affected volume, we need about 800 litres to blend.”

With NMDPRA’s parameter for the re-blending of the adulterated petrol, the two cargoes, containing a total of 170.25 million adulterated petrol, would require 681 million litres of clean product worth N201bn (based on a landing cost of N295 per litre).

The N201bn is a conservative estimate, as there are other costs that would be associated with the re-blending.