The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has revealed that it has given licence to import petroleum products to three oil marketers.
NMDPRA said the oil marketers will begin their importation from July.
Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NMDPRA, disclosed this on Wednesday, during a meeting with oil marketers.
In a statement shared via Twitter, Mr Ahmed noted that there is an urgent need for product standardization to prevent situations where consumers might be cheated by the importation of off-spec products into the country.
According to him, the meeting was aimed at raising an awareness on the requirements of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) regarding the full deregulation and importation of petrol.
The NMDPRA boss said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited had agreed to reduce its petrol import volume to give room for other players in the industry, “therefore any marketer licenced to import petroleum products must comply with set guidelines”.
“Already, three oil marketers will from July this year start importing petroleum products into the country,” the statement partly read.
Ahmed revealed that the oil marketers also reached an agreement to enhance cooperation with security agencies with the aim of facilitating the seamless supply and distribution of petroleum.