Petrol supply figures sighted yesterday in Abuja indicated that the amount of financial subsidy Nigeria currently absorbs to keep the pump price of petrol at N145 per litre instead of the expected open market price might have gone up to N65.6k.
This is following the rising price of crude oil in the international market and its impacts on the landing cost of petrol into the country. Oil last week traded at an average of $80 per barrel, but it was gathered in Abuja from operators in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector that the landing cost of a litre of petrol had similarly gone up to N196.3k per litre.
Based on this, for a period of 31 days in August, the calculations indicated that N94,643,744,000 could have been absorbed as subsidy by the NNPC to keep the pump price at N145 per litre. Though the NNPC did not confirm the figures, its Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, however, explained that it has the financial capacity to absorb any gap between the landing costs and pump price of petrol in the country.
Source: energy mix report
