By Uche Usim (Abuja) and Adewale Sanyaolu
There is palpable fear that the soaring price of Automotive Gas Oil( AGO), popularly called diesel appears to have taken a hit on the operations of oil marketers and Small Medium Enterprise(SMEs) operators.
As at yesterday, the average ex-depot price of Diesel according to Daily Sun findings was N754 per litre.
Further findings by reveal that the retail price of diesel at filling stations hovers between N800 and N810 per litre.
Some of the oil marketers who spoke to Daily Sun in separate interviews said the current fuel scarcity being witnessed in Abuja was the result of soaring diesel prices.
A source at one of the major depots in Apapa told Daily Sun in confidence that transporters are not loading to Abuja because of the high cost of diesel.
The source said the high cost of diesel has made it very unprofitable for the transporters to bridge petroleum products to Abuja.
In a similar vein, some of the retails outlets in Lagos are equally not spared as they lamented that over 60 per cent of their revenue is now spent on diesel.
Their woes are further compounded by the deterioriation in public power supply lately, which is forcing them to run on diesel- powered generators for longer hours.
This, they lamented, is not a sustainable business model as they have to contend with other running costs have made the business less lucrative.
Meanwhile most businesses operating within the SME space and their counterparts in the Fast Moving Consumable Goods(FMCG)are also lamenting over the escalating diesel prices leading to increase in the price of goods and services.
For instance, a loaf of bread which sold for N750 last week is now being sold for N950.
Chairman of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria(MOMAN), Mr. Olumide Adeosun, had in virtual presentation at a workshop organised by MOMAN for Energy Correspondents last April lamented that the current N6.19 retail margin for marketers was hampering investments, saying total distribution margin under the current petrol pricing template accounts for 11.5 per cent of the petrol pump price despite significant increase in costs, saying operators are struggling along the supply chain to get petrol out of the nuzzles into the cars which is difficult to sustain.
‘‘The backbone of distribution is based on diesel, from transport (vessels and trucks) to energy costs (depots and stations). This affects not just petrol distribution but also the distribution of aviation fuel’’.
Given a further breakdown of the monthly expenses for a standard retail station, Adeosun pegged station rental at N580,000, staff cost for eight;N 280,000, utility cost of 40 litres of diesel per day at N400 per litre for a month;N550,000, consumables;N148,000, taxes and levies;N206,667, total monthly OPEX;N1,765,259, total monthly OPEX allocated to Petrol(80%);N1,412,207.
Earlier in his presentation, Vice President, Crude and African Markets, Argus Media, Mr. James Gooder, said sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and Europe has been identified as the major cause of the rise in price of diesel in the market.
He explained that the increase in diesel and aviation fuel prices is higher than the increase in petrol prices globally because the supply of diesel and aviation fuel (middle distillates) is mainly from Russian refineries which are currently under sanctions.