The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) Wednesday said prices of petroleum products would increase even if more refineries were established.

Mr Elijah Okougbo, General Secretary of NUPENG, told newsmen in Lagos that bad roads, inefficient rail transportation and other costs would still force up prices of petroleum products. He called for urgent repair of bad roads and procurement of locomotives to boost rail transportation of petroleum products at lower costs. Okougbo also called for the repair of damaged NNPC pipelines to ensure that petroleum products were pumped from rehabilitated refineries to designated areas.

"Since the government gave license to independent marketers and indigenous investors to develop the down stream sector in 2002, they have been importing fuel. Independent marketers have one of the biggest tank farms in Apapa, that is why they can import, store and sell but the problem is taking the products across to the other states," he said.

Okougbo said price of petrol would have increased beyond N65 per litre if not for the Federal Government's subsidy.

"The prices of kerosene and diesel have been fluctuating because the government has not been subsiding them. We are advising the government to repair the roads, pipelines, refineries and the railways so that fuel will not sell beyond N110 per litre in Lagos and N300 in other parts of the country," he said.

Okougbo called on government to negotiate with multinational oil companies to build refineries to create jobs and stop importation of oil products.

NAN