The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Friday put daily Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) consumption at 66.89 million litres.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), last weekend, put the average daily evacuation (Depot truck out) from January to August 2022 at 67 million litres.

Corroborating the figure, the regulator, in a statement entitled: clarification on 2022 average daily truck out the figure, and made available to journalists on Friday, said that the actual daily truck out from 1st January 2022 to 31st July 2022, stands at 66.89 million litres.

The clarification by the regulator followed claims made by the Controller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col Hameed Ali (retd), about the fuel consumption figures in the country.

Ali had queried why the NNPC Ltd would allow the release of 98 million litres of petrol per day for local consumption, instead of 60 million litres admitted by its own computation.

He had during a meeting with National Assembly members last Thursday, said, “I remember that last year, we spoke about this, but unfortunately, this year, we are talking about subsidy again.

“The issue is not about the smuggling of petroleum products. I have always argued this with NNPC. If we are consuming 60 million litres per day by their own computation, why would you allow the release of 98 million litres per day?

“If you know this is our consumption, why would you allow that release? Scientifically, you cannot tell me that if I fill my tank today, tomorrow, I will fill the same tank with the same quantity of fuel.

“If I am operating a fuel station and I go to Minna depot, lift petrol and take it to Kaduna, I may get to Kaduna in the evening and offload that fuel.

“There is no way I would have sold off that petrol immediately to warrant another load. So, how did you get to 60 million litres per day? That is my problem. The issue of smuggling, if you release 98 million litres in actual, and 60 million litres is used, the balance should be 38 million litres.

“How many trucks will carry 38 million litres every day? Which road are they following and where are they carrying this thing to,” he queried.

But reacting to the claims made by the Customs CG, the Authority said, “The Federal Government Medium Term Expenditure and Revenue Framework (MTERF), which is a three year forward looking budgetary tool comprises contributions from various agencies.

“For clarity, the figure provided was used in 2021 solely to forecast the expected revenue for 2022 and does not in any way translate to the actual truck out volume for this year.

“In line with the NMDPRA mandate as provided in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to ensure transparency in the oil and gas industry, the Authority publishes on its website (www.nmdpra.gov.ng/daily-truckout) the actual daily truck out.

“As can be verified from the website, the actual daily truck out from 1st January, 2022, to 31st July, 2022, stand at 66.89 million litres. The Authority assures the general public that it is committed to providing credible and transparent data on the supply and distribution of petroleum products,” he said. (Daily Independent)

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