By Onome Amuge
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) plans to deploy electronic tracking devices to monitor fuel distribution across the country and curtail smuggling activities as a result.
Mele Kyari, group managing director of the corporation, made the disclosure at the 2022 to 2024 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) public hearing by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance.
Kyari explained that there was an ongoing initiative to put electronic trackerson tanks and fuel stations that would monitor the distribution of fuel in the country.
He further noted that with the implementation of electronic monitoring, every truck carrying fuel, including the fuel stations where the fuel is being discharged, would be visible and effectively monitored by the corporation.
Speaking about the corporation’s efforts at curbing oil smuggling, the NNPC managing director said President Muhammadu Buhari had personally directed him to take steps that would curtail cross border smuggling.
To this effect, he said the corporation was already engaging the Republic of Niger to establish a retail NNPC outlet, a move expected to curtail the activities of oil smugglers.
He stated that the country may not exit the fuel subsidy regime in 2022, but stressed the move is feasible by 2023 when the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) might have been fully activated.
Commenting on NNPC’s relationship with Dangote refinery, he said the decision of the corporation to be on the board of Dangote refinery was a calculated attempt towards improved supply, adding that Nigeria does not currently have a strategic storage.
“We are taking interest in Dangote refinery and up till now he does not want us to take 50 percent equity and it was structured on the fact that he must buy 3000 barrels of crude oil from us per day,” he stated.
Kyari also noted that Dangote had a choice to buy crude oil from anywhere in the world but NNPC insisted that the company must buy from Nigeria, stressing that it was a good deal the corporation was proud to undertake.
