Fears that Lagos may be hit by fuel scarcity heightened on Friday as the Department of Petroleum Resources took a decision to recall all the contaminated fuel in circulation.
Sources said the department, after a long meeting with the major marketers in Lagos, on Friday, resolved to recall all the petrol that was supplied to all the major marketers from the affected consignment.
Our correspondent learnt that this was done to stem the damage that the contaminated fuel had done to consumers� vehicles.
Confirming the recall, a senior official of the DPR told our correspondent, �We are recalling everything (petrol) taken by the major marketers from that consignment. Already, Mobil, where the first case was identified has taken the initiative to recall the products from its outlets and we are doing the same with the others.
�As I speak with you now, we have already started the process of recall to prevent further damages. We are recalling everything from the filling stations, the storage tanks and the depots.�
Anticipating some supply hiccups, which might lead to scarcity of petrol, the regulator said, �We have put in place some machinery to taker care of any shortages, and we have charged the marketers to look for products from anywhere to fill the gap.�
Although some of the marketers, our correspondent gathered, were not happy about the recall, the regulator insisted, �They don�t have a choice, as this is the only way to restore consumers confidence in the market.�
But the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, relying on its 21 days sufficiency reserve, assured that there would be no scarcity.
The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Department, NNPC, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, said in a telephone interview, �There would be no scarcity at all because we have 21 days sufficiency.�
He insisted the NNPC, through its marketing arm, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, was more than capable of ensuring that consumers did not suffer from the product recall.
He said, �I can assure you that there would be no impact at all, because the NNPC/PPMC is fully alive to its responsibilities to ensure adequate supply of fuel at every point in time.
�There is no way the recall of one consignment will result in scarcity since there is already a stock of the product, because the NNPC remains the major importer of products in Nigeria.�
Accordingly, he said the PPMC had already started discharging the products received from both the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which he said were working at between 65 and 70 per cent of their capacities to all the NNPC depots nationwide.
Commending the DPR on its decision to recall all the bad fuel in circulation, he charged marketers o be more responsible in the type of fuel they import into the country.
He noted that in spite of the losses that would be incurred, it was better to recall the product than to cause further damages, which might lead to huge economic losses.
Individually, each of the major marketers, including Mobil, Oando, AP, Conoil, Total and Chevron confirmed they had recalled the bad fuel from all the stations it was supplied to.
A visit at some of the major filling stations in Lagos, showed minimal activities, and it was uncertain if it was as a result of the scare of the contaminated fuel.
However, the major marketers have assured consumers that not all their products were contaminated, as they had some old stock before the contaminated consignment came in.
As at the time of filing in this report, it is not clear what decision was reached concerning the marketer that brought in the bad fuel consignment.
However, the DPR said that preliminary investigations revealed that the fault might not have been that of the marketer, as this could be traced to the suppliers of the product, who failed to disclose all the chemical components of the consignment delivered to the marketer.