There was momentary crossfire of arguments yesterday at the Apapa tank farm and Jetty as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) began investigation into some depot owners in the vicinity over allegations of selling petroleum products above the official ex-depot price of N133.28 kobo.
Lead by the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, DPR, Mrs. Dorothy Bassey, she disclosed that the federal agency will not spare any depot owners found guilty of the act.
According to her, “There is no reason for any depot to sell petrol above the official ex-depot price,” insisting that “The agency will not hesitate to sanction any depot found guilty of the claim.”
It was not clear whether the alleged hike was riding on the comments by the Group Manager, Crude Oil Marketing, NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari, who said at the 10th Oil Trading and Logistics Africa Downstream conference that the current price of fuel was no longer realistic due to the nation’s difficult business environment.
However, on the spot checks showed that five depot owners sold petrol to marketers at between N134 and 143.50 ex-depot price on Tuesday.
Additional investigations also revealed that only NIPCO Plc sold at the stipulated ex-depot price of N 133.28 to marketers.
