Nigerian Petrol prices are some of the cheapest in the world, a reflection of the petrol subsidy regime in place as well as the corruption that often has dogged the practice.
Data from GlobalPetrolPrices.com show that countries with the cheapest petrol prices as at June 29 include Venezuela ($0.02 per litre), Iran ($0.07), Sudan ($0.14), Angola ($0.28), Qatar ($0.29), Saudi Arabia ($0.29) and Nigeria ($0.33) per litre.
At the other end of the scale sits Hong Kong ($2.24 per litre), Netherlands ($1.75), Norway ($1.67) and Greece ($1.61), per litre.
Most European countries have a tax on gasoline to discourage the inefficient use of carbon emitting items like cars.
Nigeria’s position at the top of the list of cheap Petrol Prices is an anomaly simply the country cannot afford to pay the cost of the subsidies with soaring budget deficits and large infrastructure needs from health care to education and roads.
A more insidious cost of the petrol subsidy regime has been the near destruction of the downstream sector of its petroleum industry with many players incurring recurring losses from late payment of subsidy claims and leaving the national oil company NNPC as the sole importer of fuels.
For instance Conoil said receivables due from the PPPRA jumped by 45 percent to N5.57 billion in its most recent quarter due to late payment of subsidies owed.