Speaking at the official launch of Nigerian Upstream Cost Optimisation Programme (NUCOP) in Abuja on Tuesday last week, Minister State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said with no provision of subsidy in the 2021 budget, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), cannot continue to bear the cost of under-recovery. At present, the pump price of petrol ranges between N160 and N165, the price band set when crude traded just above $43 per barrel four months ago. ROTIMI DUROJAIYE reports that the pump price of petrol might likely get to N190 per litre as the price of crude oil hit $62 per barrel in the international market, the highest in 13 months.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, on Tuesday prepared the minds of Nigerians for a higher regime of the pump price of petrol, given the new fortune of crude oil in the international market.
Oil prices jumped again by 2.49 per cent on Friday, hitting a fresh 13-month peak, and surpassing the $60 high set earlier last week.
Brent Crude, the international oil benchmark, traded above $62.6, while he West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit $59.74 a barrel on Friday, its highest level since January 2020.
Oil prices have been on a tear since late last year as coronavirus vaccines and supply curbs from OPEC, and its allies spur hopes that global stockpiles will continue to slide.
