Outstanding bridging claims: NMDPRA settles IPMAN, other marketers N58bn
Oredola Adeola
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority(NMDPRA) has disbursed about N43billion to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and N15 Billion to other marketers, being part of the outstanding bridging claims.
NMDPRA made this known in a statement signed by its Department of Corporate Communication on Thursday.
The Authority in the statement said it has taken note of concerns raised by some oil marketers over their outstanding bridging claims.
It said, “So far over N58 billion has been disbursed to oil marketers out of which about N43 billion went directly to members of the IPMAN.
“The administration of bridging payment is a continuous process as hundreds of trucks load and discharge products daily thereby adding to the claims.
“Since December 2021, the NMDPRA has made several payments to marketers whose claims have been verified.
“We wish to stress that the total amount disbursed so far is the highest ever paid within a 6 months span by previous fund administrators , which implies that the reimbursement of marketers’ transportation differential for petroleum products movement from depots to sales outlets is a priority to the NMDPRA.
The regulatory Authority further stated that the freight rates were recently reviewed upwards to reflect current market realities and stimulate investment in the transportation of petroleum products in the country to ensure uninterrupted distribution.
It said, “It is pertinent to note that some of the pending payments are due to the reluctance of marketers to reconcile their claims ,in spite of the Authority’s continuous appeal to come for reconciliation whenever there are discrepancies.
The Authority also noted that NNPC has sufficient PMS to last for over 47 days , translating to about 1.65 billion litres , therefore there is no need to panic as the current situation being experienced in some part of the country will soon stabilise.
It disclosed that some loading depots have been directed to operate on extended hours to enable increased truck-out .He noted that in the interim, the vessel discharged operations have been reviewed to fast track loading and distribution in order to meet increased demand.
The Authority noted that it is committed to honouring and processing legitimate and verified bridging claims to ensure product availability nationwide.
