Abuja (Nigeria): The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says there are no subsidies in the oil and gas sector as Nigeria operates a completely deregulated market.
Mr George Ene-Italy, the Director of the Public Affairs Department at NMDPRA, made this known in Abuja on Friday.
Ene-Ita was reacting to the recent reports that the Federal Government has removed subsidies or increased the price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
CNG refilling stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had, early this week, increased the product from N230 to N380 for one Standard Cubic Metre (SCM), amid long queues.
The price increase may be linked to the product’s scarcity, resulting from inadequate infrastructure, which has led to long queues at refilling stations, particularly in the FCT and Lagos.
“What we have is a baseline price for our gas resources, including CNG as dictated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA),” the spokesperson said.
He said that as long as the prevailing CNG market price conforms to the baseline, then the pricing is legitimate.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (P-CNGI) had said that the Federal Government had issued no directive or policy to alter CNG pump prices.
The P-CNGI emphasised that the recent pump price adjustments announced by certain operators were purely private-sector decisions and not the outcome of any government directive or policy.
For absolute clarity, it said that while pricing matters fell under the purview of the appropriate regulatory agencies, no directive or policy had been issued by the Federal Government to alter CNG pump prices.
The P-CNGI said its mandate, as directed by President Bola Tinubu, was to catalyse the development of the CNG mobility market and ensure the adoption of a cheaper, cleaner, and more sustainable alternative fuel and diesel nationwide.
