The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has urged petroleum marketers who applied to buy fuel via its online portal to adjust their payments to reflect current prices, warning that failure to do so may lead to the forfeiture of their allocations.

NNPC spokesperson Andy Odeh said that marketers unable to meet the revised ex-depot rates could instead request refunds, according to The Punch.

He added that the measure is necessary to uphold contractual obligations, as product loading cannot continue at outdated payment levels once prices are revised.

“Where payments have been made and there is a subsequent price adjustment before loading takes place, marketers are required to either pay the difference before lifting their products or, if they prefer, request a refund,” Odeh said. “NNPC can confirm that it has received refund requests from some marketers, and in line with our contractual obligations, those requests are currently being processed.”

Meanwhile, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has called on NNPC Group Chief Executive, Officer Bayo Ojulari, to address the backlog of loading tickets on the company’s portal.

The association said its members have already paid for petroleum products but have been unable to lift the quantities linked to those tickets.

IPMAN’s Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, said, “We, the independent marketers, have been calling on NNPC to reimburse us for our money or give us products from some of our tickets that are being tied down in their system through their portal,” Ukadike said. “Though they have started, it is not in full force. So, we are appealing to the GCEO to look at some of the outstanding tickets and clear them.”

Ukadike acknowledged that he could not provide the exact number of tickets or their financial value but emphasized that the sum was “sizable” and needed urgent resolution.

The renewed appeals from IPMAN follow protests by its members in June over diesel price hikes at the Port Harcourt refinery.

Marketers claimed that depot officials increased the price of diesel from N980 to N1,130 per litre, despite members having already paid under the previously agreed rate.

The association contended that delays in product loading prior to the sudden price adjustment left many members stranded, unable to recover their investments.

Marketers said such developments disrupt operations in the deregulated downstream sector, with fuel price volatility creating uncertainty and complicating business planning.