Three days after the Federal Government and Labour agreed to the pump price of petrol at N70 per litre leading to the call-off of the nationwide strike by labour, some marketers in Lagos, Abuja and other cities are yet to sell petrol at the new price.
Most of them continued yesterday to sell petrol at N75 per litre to which the Federal Government had initially jacked the pump price.
But on brighter note, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) said yesterday the lifting of petroleum products had commenced at depots nationwide.
In a related development, Royal Dutch Shell, has said it will resume operations at the 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) Forcados oil export terminal next month, more than a year after it was shut by militant attacks.
This was sequel also to the suspension of the strike by labour unions last Saturday. The strike which had threatened export and resulted in the drop in crude oil prices in the international market yesterday by $1.28. The price of crude oil stood at $69.90 a barrel.
On compliance with N70 per litre, THISDAY checks revealed that only a few marketers had since adjusted their pumps in line with the new price regime.
A survey of filling stations in Abuja showed that most petrol stations had either not effected the price reversal or remained closed to business, thereby creating another wave of scarcity.
Only a few fuel stations, including the mega station owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corpo-ration (NNPC) and African Petroleum located in the Central Business Area, were seen dispensing petrol at the new price of N70 per litre.
Conoil filling station, one of the major oil marketing companies situated along Solomon Lar Way, Utako District, Abuja, as well as SARCO Oil Company still sold at N75 per litre while Oando filling Station located along Nnamdi Azikiwe Road, Jabi, Abuja, on its part, remained closed to business.
The situation was not too different in Lagos, Enugu and other cities, as there were reports of long queues at filling stations contrary to expectations that the supply and distribution of petroleum products would improve as soon as the strike was called off.
A PPMC official who confirmed that products lifting had commenced, explained that normalcy would return this week when most filling stations would have been supplied.
He said the supply gap would need a few days to be filled, adding that the queues would disappear when that happened.
When THISDAY visited the Ijora depot, owned by the Independent Petroleum Marketers, petrol tanker drivers were seen lifting products for onward supply to consumers in Suleija and other parts of the North.
One of the officials also explained that the situation would ease this week, as they were working round the clock to ensure that the products go round.
However, while some of the sales officials affirmed that they had been formally instructed to adjust their pumps to the new price, others who sold at the old rate of N75 claimed that they were yet to be instructed by their head offices to revert to N70 per litre.
Consumers who still found it difficult getting the products have continued to patronize the black marketers who buy from erring petrol stations at higher rates in the wee hours of the night.
For instance, a ten-litre jerry can of fuel costs between N2,500 and N2,200 in the black market.
Reacting to the non-compliance with the new price regime, Labour leaders in Enugu State yesterday called on petroleum dealers to revert to the new pump price as agreed by the Federal Government and the unions.
Speaking to newsmen in Enugu, the Enugu State Chairman of NLC, Mr. Eugene Ugwu, said the appeal became necessary in order to reduce the sufferings of the people.
He also appealed to the Federal Government to repair the NNPC depot in Enugu to enable the independent marketers begin lifting of products from there.
In his comments, the Chairman of TUC, Mr. Chukwudi Onah, commended Nigerians for their �resilience and active participation� in the strike, even as he expressed regrets that Nigerians were subjected to hardship during the period.
Meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell has explained that an earlier plan to export crude from the Forcados terminal in June had not been carried out because of security concerns.
Industry sources expect two, 950,000-barrel Forcados cargoes to be exported in July, compared with 10 or more in the months before the shutdown, and another two in August.
The Forcados tanker-loading platform was bombed by Niger Delta militants in February 2006, forcing Shell to suspend output.
Forcados can pump about 380,000 barrels per day. Shell also closed its 115,000 bpd EA platform.
In Lagos, civil servants in have returned to work after four days of strike declared by NLC over the recent increase in fuel price.
Most offices that had been closed down in the wake of the industrial action opened for normal activities.
However, commercial bus operators charged exorbitant fares claiming that the reduction in fuel price was yet to be effected by petrol marketers. The situation forced most commuters who could not afford the fares to resort to trekking very long distances.
Jun262007