Petrol Will Reduce To 75 Naira Per Litre Next Year

Managing Director of the  company, Mathew Wenke, said  that  his company   did  not intend to  seek  subsidy to import  petroleum products.

As the fuel crisis continues without a permanent solution in sight and as controversy rages over the continuous implementation of the fuel subsidy regime, Epic Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Limited, has  said  it intends to import refined  fuel  and  sell at N75 per litre.
He  said that the  company had done a feasibility study during  a recent tour to the  South Korea  on the viability of the  project, adding that  Epic  had already  applied for approval  to the Ministry of Petroleum and other relevant  agencies of government to  import fuel.
Wenke  said that such  importation was part of the company’s   contribution to the Federal Government’s transformation agenda under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
According to him, the current  scarcity of  fuel  and the attendant high cost was caused by saboteurs who   want to discredit the present administration  for political reasons.
Wenke said the petroleum products when imported would be  made available  to Nigerians through the use of   the distribution network of the Nigerian National Petroleum  Corporation (NNPC) to squarely address the issue of scarcity.
He however said the company which had applied  to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to  build  a $30bn refinery  in Bayelsa State  would acquire series of  tankers  to distribute the product to all zones in the country.
“The current fuel scarcity is caused by some saboteurs and we intend to fill this gap. It is for the sake of national interest. We shall  go into  mass importation of fuel  while preparing to establish  refinery  in the next two years. We shall import fuel without asking for subsidy. We have sought to use the NNPC distribution network to  address the issue of scarcity.  We shall do this to show our support  to the President.”, he said
He  explained that the idea  to sell at N75 per litre at  a time when  fuel was selling between  N110 and  N130 in some  parts of the country was mainly to  demonstrate  genuineness  to contribute to the nation’s development and not to   create more hard times for Nigerians.
“We believe that after selling at N75 per litre we shall still have enough to sustain our business”, he said.
Wenke  promised that  when his company was granted  licence to build a refinery,  the company would  ensure that the price per litre would further go down.
He  disclosed that  the company planned to import fuel, diesel and kerosene, adding that  if  industry marketers  went on strike  for whatever  reason, the company  should bring in its own trucks for   products distribution.
“We have written to the Minister   and other agencies that we want to import. We  are now  waiting for their  approval”, he said.
When asked on how  his company intended to handle the issue of  the oil industry cabal trying to frustrate   such offers, he maintained that  the company could not be intimidated in whatever way.
“No cabal can stop us from  importing  fuel at reduced price. To us, we are trying to contribute our quota to the economic development of this country. We want to think and behave like a  new Nigerian. As Ijaw man, we are all mafians, we believe that nobody can stop us”, he said.