The total expenses made on transportation and freight costs of oil products by four major oil marketing companies in the country in the first nine months of the year amounted to N2.64bn.
This is in contrast to the N3.57bn the oil firms spent for the same purpose in 2019.
The oil marketing companies, Total Nigeria Plc, MRS Oil Nigeria, Ardova Plc and Conoil, saw their combined transport expenses for the period ended September 30 decline by N932.73m.
This is a 26.06 per cent reduction in transport costs in the first three quarters of the year, compared with the same period of 2019.
The financial statements of the companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange showed that they collectively spent a lesser amount on freight and transportation costs in the first nine months of the year.
This is coming on the back of a lockdown that restricted activities as well as the aftermath of unrest in several parts of the country owing to protests against police brutality. All these factors negatively impacted the delivery of goods and services.
Total Nigeria spent N1.13bn by September 2020 compared to N1.32bn by September 2019 on transport supplies expenses incurred by the oil firm, according to checks by our correspondent.
Conoil spent N1.23bn by September 2020 compared to N1.60bn by September 2019 in terms of freight costs incurred by the oil firm.
MRS Oil Nigeria spent N169.85m in the first three quarters of the year on freight compared to N259.50m in the same period of 2019.
Similarly, Ardova spent N101.47m in the nine-month period on transport and travel compared to N388.03m in the same period of 2019.
