Nigeria’s gas subsidies surpassed $1 billion in Aug because it provided extra petrol By Reuters

By Camillus Eboh

ABUJA (Reuters) – The price of Nigeria’s gas subsidies rose to 525.714 billion naira ($1.22 billion) in August, bringing the full spent this yr to 2.568 trillion naira, in accordance with figures submitted to the federal government by state oil firm NNPC.

The ballooning prices of maintaining petrol costs low in Africa’s most populous nation are straining the price range and draining income from the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Corp (NNPC).

In April, Nigeria’s parliament authorized a 4-trillion-naira petrol subsidy for this yr after the federal government in January reversed a pledge to finish its subsidies to avert protests within the run-up to presidential elections in February 2023.

NNPC has not submitted any cash to the federal authorities this yr due largely to subsidy prices. August’s invoice in contrast with 448.782 billion naira in July, in accordance with a doc NNPC submitted on Friday to the Federation Account Allocation Committee.

A part of the elevated price was right down to a much bigger each day provide of petrol, which rose to 71.8 million litres, up almost 10% from July, in accordance with data submitted on the similar assembly by regulator Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

Oil manufacturing in August averaged 1.18 million barrels per day, effectively under the nation’s OPEC quota of 1.8 million bpd, due largely to theft from pipelines that has curtailed manufacturing.

($1 = 430.0500 naira)