Update: Fuel Price Go Higher This Week As Fg Moves A Step Closer To Full Deregulation

SAN FRANCISCO, May 09, (THEWILL) – The federal government will abandon its policy of fixing the pump price of petrol this week in order to allow independent marketers resume the importation of fuel and sell at profitable margins, authoritative sources at Minister of Petroleum said early Monday.

The move, according to our sources, is expected to ease the unending shortage of petrol across the country. State owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been the sole importer of petrol for months because independent marketers have been unable to purchase dollars at the discounted official rate due to the scarcity of the green back, courtesy of the fall in the nation's foreign reserve.

Nigeria is a major crude oil producer and exporter but its four old refineries can barely refine enough for local consumption due to corruption and sabotage of facilities by crooked officials and vested interests.

THEWILL gathered that after several meetings between oil officials and independents, government last week gave marketers approval to source foreign exchange from the parallel market, which means that the price of petrol may top N130 per liter from the current modulated price set at N86.

However, petrol stations operated by the NNPC will continue to sell petrol at the current price of around N86 as government intends to continue to adjust prices at its stations under the modulation template it recently introduced, the sources further said.

THEWILL also learned that the federal government will not publicly announce this policy shift.