LONDON: Nigerian state oil company NNPC cancelled a tender it issued last week to buy up to 1.55 million tonnes of gasoline from January to April, sources said on Monday.
The company was seeking 42 cargoes of gasoline, each of 37,000 tonnes, on top of the volumes it is taking via its ongoing crude-for-product swap contracts.
Four trading sources, who did not wish to be identified, said NNPC cancelled the tender after gasoline prices spiked on the news that it was looking to purchase the relatively substantial volume of fuel.
Still, in the midst of fuel queues, Nigeria is still likely to increase gasoline imports in coming weeks, sources said.
"They still need the product," one trader said. "But the bid spiked market prices."
The tender would have significantly increased imports that typically do not exceed 1 million tonnes per month.
Africa's most populous nation has been grappling with fuel queues since early December, a development that drew anger from citizens during the Christmas holidays, usually the peak driving season.
President Muhammadu Buhari addressed the shortage in his Christmas briefing, promising that the government was working "round the clock" to address it. Oil minister Emmanuele Ibe Kachikwu has since denied any plans to increase gasoline prices from their capped level of 145 naira (47 US cents) per litre.
The caps have made it unprofitable for many private importers to bring in gasoline, leaving NNPC to import upwards of 90 percent of the fuel, sources told Reuters.
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