Methanol-laden petrol: Buhari directs Sylva to query NMDPRA boss, as agency identifies source supplier

Sopuruchi Onwuka

President Muhammadu Buhari has waded into the bad petrol controversy, directing the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to query the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed over the incident.

This is also the Federal Government declared that it is working out appropriate commercial and regulatory sanctions against the company that supplied the domestic fuel market with wrong specification of the premium motor spirit (PMS) also called petrol.

President Buhari, according to Presidency sources, Wednesday, directed the Minister, Sylva, to obtain explanation from Ahmed with immediate effect how the adulterated product entered the Nigerian market.

The Presidency source also revealed that the response of the agency would determine which other government agency or private individuals would be sanctioned.

It would be recalled that the NMDPRA, Tuesday, admitted the discovery of limited quantity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol, with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification already in the supply chain.

The agency, subsequently, recalled the methanol-laden petrol from market, which consequently led to scarcity of the product in parts of the country following shirt fall in supply.

NMDPRA, which is agency that replaced the defunct Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA), made this known in a statement, Tuesday in Abuja.

NMDPRA said to ensure vehicular and equipment safety, the limited quantity of the impacted product has been isolated and withdrawn from the market, including the loaded trucks in transit.

Methanol is a regular additive in Petrol and usually blended in an acceptable quantity.

It noted that the source supplier has been identified and further commercial and appropriate actions shall be taken by the Authority and NNPC Ltd.

It assured that its technical team in conjunction with NNPC and other industry stakeholders, would continue to monitor and ensure that quality petroleum products were supplied and distributed nationwide.

“NNPC Ltd and all Oil Marketing Companies have been directed to sustain sufficient distribution of Petrol in all retail outlets nationwide.

The adulterated fuel was reported on Monday, affecting the supply chain and causing long queues in Lagos and Abuja as filling stations shut down to clean up tanks.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has assured that it is making efforts to bridge gaps arising from distortions in market supply.

On its part, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) said the source supplier has been identified and would come under penal measures soon.

The NMDPRA admitted that bad fuel in circulation had upset the market and led to the prevailing scarcity.

The regulatory agency stated it has been working to withdraw huge volumes of bad petrol from the domestic fuel market after it was discovered that the product contains disproportionate methanol content.

A statement from the  regulator on Tuesday night stated that withdrawal of the high methanol petrol from the market created huge supply gaps that resulted in the prevailing fuel scarcity across the country.

The Oracle Today reports that mild scarcity of petrol surfaced in mainly high demand urban centres of the country weekend, leading to panic buying and consequent queues at filling stations in Lagos and Abuja.

The NMDPRA stated that limited quantity of petrol was discovered in the supply chain with methanol quantities above Nigeria’s specification. It explained that the bad fuel was withdrawn from the market to avert destructive impact on engines.

Thus, the scarcity arose from withdrawal of off-specification petrol from the market.

“To ensure vehicular and equipment safety, the limited quantity of the impacted product has been isolated and withdrawn from the market, including loaded trucks in transit,” the regulator stated.

The agency said that it is working with market players including the NNPC Limited to guarantee adequate supply of good petrol across the country.

The NMDPRA said it has directed all marketing companies to sustain sufficient distribution of petrol in all retail outlets nationwide, adding that NNPC Limited has “intensified efforts at increasing the supply of petrol into the market in order to bridge any unforeseen supply gap.”