Marketers Begin to Import Petrol for Q1

Some oil marketing and trading (OM&T) companies that received import allocations for the first quarter of 2013 have started bringing in their cargoes of premium motor spirit (PMS). This development, which is coming amid increasing concern over the refusal of banks to give loans to some of the importers, however, has the potential to end the fuel supply shock experienced in the last couple of months.

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) actually issued the allocations to the marketers in 2012 and not the beginning of 2013. The 32 participating companies are Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aiteo Energy, Ascon Oil, Avidor Oil and Gas, A-Z Petroleum, Bovas, Conoil Plc, Dee Jones Petroleum and Gas, Dozzy Oil and Gas, Folawiyo Energy, Fresh Synergy Ltd and Forte Oil Plc.

Others are: First Deepwater Discovery Ltd, Gulf Treasure Ltd, Heyden Petroleum, Ibafon Oil Ltd, Integrated Oil and Gas Industries, IPMAN Refining and Marketing Ltd, Mobil Oil Plc, MRS Oil & Gas Ltd, MRS Oil Nig. Plc, NIPCO Plc, Northwest Petroleum & Gas Ltd, Oando Plc, Obat Petroleum Ltd, RainOil Ltd, Rahamaniyya Oil Gas and Sahara Energy Ltd.

The list also includes Shorelink Oil Ltd, Swift Oil Ltd, Techno Oil Ltd and Total Nigeria Plc.

Fuel Subsidy Scam: EFCC Arraigns 13 Oil Marketers

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned eight more directors of oil marketing companies and five oil-marketing and trading firms before the Lagos High Court in Ikeja, for fuel subsidy fraud. Six directors and four companies were arraigned before Justice Habeeb Abiru on eight-count charges bordering on uttering, obtaining and falsifying documents. Two directors and an oil marketing firm were arraigned before Justice Lateefa Okunnu on 18-count charge bordering on uttering, obtaining and falsifying documents.

The directors and the companies arraigned before Justice Abiru separately in batches were Anosyke Group of Companies Ltd, Ifeanyi Anosike, Dell Energy Limited, Emeka Chukwu, Ngozi Ekeoma, Downstream Energy Sources Ltd, Alhaji Adamu Aliyu Maula, Rocky Energy Ltd, George Ogbonna and Emmanuel Morah, being the first batch. The EFCC accused them of fraudulently obtaining N1,537,278,880.82 from the federal government by falsely representing that the said sum represented subsidy accruing from the importation of 15,000 Metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit.

Similarly, also arraigned before Justice Abiru on an eight count charge for the second batch, were Downstream Energy Sources Limited, Alhaji Adamu Aliyu Maula, Rocky Energy Limited, George Ogbonna and Emmanuel Morah. They were also accused of fraudulently obtaining N789,648,329.25 from the federal government by falsely representing that the said sum represented subsidy accruing from the importation of 14,273,0227 litres of Premium Motor Spirit.