Supplementary Permits to import 400,000bpd issued to importers of PMS.

Import permits have been issued by the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) for additional importation of over 400,000 metric tones of premium motor spirit or petrol, under the third quarter import program. The additional allocations have become necessary as it became obvious that output from the four refineries operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) could not yet meet the national demand. The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Dr Kaichukwu affirmed that the refineries would not be sold but joint venture partners with established track records of success in refining would be invited to support the running of the refineries in order to ensure efficiency. Ongoing reforms at the NNPC will see the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company split into 3 Divisions, one to focus primarily on the maintenance of the over five thousand kilometers pipelines of the Corporation; a storage company that would maintain all the over 23 depots and a products marketing company that would market and sell petroleum products. This would ensure a lean,profitable and efficient operations.