An indigenous petroleum product marketer, Rainoil Limited, has given petroleum distribution to the south-south, south-east, the Federal Capital Territory and northern states a fillip with investment in new tanker vessels.
The company, in a statement on Wednesday, said it had acquired multi-million dollar oil vessels, MT Adeline and MT Emmanuel, aimed at boosting petroleum products’ availability and distribution in the country.
While MT Adeline is a 20,000-tonnage vessel, the carrying capacity of MT Emmanuel is 15,000-tonnage.
The Executive Secretary, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Mr. Reginald Stanley, who recently inaugurated the two vessels at the Rainoil jetty in Delta state, described the new investment as a significant milestone and a big boost to the nation’s economy in the areas of foreign exchange conservation and reduction in the cost of freight of petroleum products.
The new vessels, he said, would also provide employment opportunities and speed up products distribution across the country.
He said, ‘‘Although Rainoil is a big player in thePremium Motor Spirit to the nation, these vessels will provide an excellent logistic to other players in the downstream. “
According to him, the new vessels will boost Ship-to- Ship operations in the country.
Stanley said MT Adeline and MT Emmanuel met stringent vetting standard of multinational majors and qualified for STS operation.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Rainoil Limited, Mr. Gabriel Ogbechie, said the new vessels and other previous investments by the company including a jetty and storage depot, were strategic moves to enhance speedy distribution of petroleum products to the south-south, south-east, the Federal Capital Territory and northern states.
He also said the new investment further demonstrated his company’s commitment to leadership and foresight.
‘‘This is a major milestone. These are modern vessels and they meet stringent international standards. So, these vessels are acceptable anywhere in the world. Maritime is one area where this country bleeds a lot of foreign exchange. So, these vessels will save the country lots of foreign exchange apart from hundreds of employment that will be created,’’ he stated.