As the fuel crisis
continues, Epic Refinery andPetrochemicals Company Limited, has said it intends
to import refined fuel and sell at N75 per litre.
Managing Director of
the company, Mathew Wenke, told THISDAY that
his company did not
intend to seek subsidy to import petroleum products.
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 agendaunder President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
According to him,
the current scarcity of fuel and the attendant high cost was causedby 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 zonesin 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 perlitre 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
bringin 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 atreduced 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment