THE Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG has rejected threat by oil marketers to embark on mass sack of workers, over unpaid subsidy claims, warning the oil marketers not to use oil workers as scapegoats.
NUPENG in a statement by its President, Mr. Achese Igwe, in Lagos, insisted that the threat to embark on mass sack was uncalled for, unjustified and unethical as the workers had always performed their duties well, threatening that any attempt to sack workers will be resisted and could lead to an industrial crisis in the industry.
The union however pleaded with the federal government to verify the N720 billion owed the oil marketers and pay them to avert fuel scarcity and suffering of the masses.
According to the statement: “The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) wants to use this medium to warn the oil marketers over the threat of mass retrenchment of workers if the federal government fails to pay outstanding subsidy owed it on the importation of petroleum products. We want to state that the threat to sack the workers should not be used as a bait or weapon to get government to pay but apply other sanctions that will compel the government to pay genuine claims. The threat to embark on the mass sack is uncalled for, unjustified and unethical as the workers have always performed their duties well.
“NUPENG warns that workers cannot be used as scapegoats or guinea pigs for government’s ineptitude and nonchalant attitude to pay for products imported on their behalf. We call on the federal government to verify the N720 billion owes the oil marketers and pay in order to avert fuel scarcity and suffering of the masses. The oil marketers borrowed money to import these products and as a result they should fulfil their obligations to them. Government must develop the political will to do the turn-around-maintenance of the nation’s refineries to make them work optimally so that the drain on our foreign exchange will be reduced due to massive importation of petroleum products.”
The Union added that “any attempt to sack workers in the oil marketing firms will be resisted and will lead to an industrial crisis in the industry. We advise the government and the oil companies to sort out themselves and not to use the workers as cannon fodder.”
Oil rises, gasoline jumps 10% as U.S. refineries are shut down
Gasoline futures surged 10 percent as almost a quarter of U.S. refining capacity remained offline and traders scrambled to reroute millions of barrels of fuel, while oil prices rose nearly 3 per cent.
U.S. gasoline futures have rallied roughly 26 per cent from the previous week to a two-year high above $2 a gallon, buoyed by fears of a fuel shortage days ahead of the Labor Day weekend that typically brings a surge in driving. Gasoline was up 21.03 cents, or 11.2 per cent, at $2.0950. Hurricane Harvey, which brought record flooding to the U.S. oil heartland of Texas and killed at least 35 people, has paralysed at least 4.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity, according to company reports and Reuters estimates.
The shutdowns led the U.S. government to tap its strategic oil reserves for the first time in five years, releasing 500,000 barrels of crude to a working refinery in Louisiana. Traders were also scrambling to redirect fuel to the United States. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures recovered some early-week losses, trading $1.24 per barrel higher at $47.20 per barrel. It was still on track to close the month down just under 6 per cent, the steepest monthly loss since March. International benchmark Brent crude was up $1.47 per barrel, or 2.89 per cent, at $52.33 a barrel. It had fallen by just over 2 per cent in the previous session.
“The market has turned in reverse pretty sharply,” said Gene McGillian, manager of market research at Tradition Energy. “You do have some signs of rebalancing, regardless of Harvey.”
Prices fell on Wednesday despite a drop in U.S. crude stocks, which are typically watched closely by oil investors as a sign of balance. The data showed a 5.39 million barrel drop in commercial crude stocks last week. They are now 14.5 per cent below the record levels hit in March.
OPEC output also fell this month by 170,000 bpd from a 2017 high, a Reuters survey found, as renewed unrest cut supplies in Libya and other members stepped up compliance with a production-cutting deal. Analysts said the status of U.S. refineries could be a key to oil prices going forward.
“We could see rising U.S. crude inventories in the next couple of weeks until demand from refineries recovers. But by the end of September I expect the situation to be almost back to normal,” said Frank Schallenberger, head of commodity research at LBBW.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs and Stifel said they expected U.S. infrastructure outages to last several months but said it was difficult to estimate the exact damage. Others saw potential for operational refineries to delay typical September seasonal maintenance to benefit from high prices. “Refineries outside the affected area may delay maintenance to benefit from high processing margins,” said Commerzbank oil analyst Carsten Fritsch.
“Hence, the negative impact on crude oil demand and oil product supply might be less severe than feared.”
