NNPC said yesterday that it had deployed a sales and distribution application in the oil and gas secondary model portal that would enable marketers to buy petroleum products online.

The corporation noted that the move was to minimise human contacts in business transactions at the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a downstream subsidiary of NNPC, as a result of the spread of COVID-19.

A statement in Abuja by the NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, quoted the corporation’s Group General Manager, Information Technology Division (ITD), Mr. Danladi Inuwa, as saying that some major marketers have already begun the use of the new platform.

He said the application, known as the Customer Express, would also enable marketers to register, validate and revalidate their bulk purchase agreements online within a week.

According to the national oil company, the portal also provides a dashboard that enables the corporation to track every molecule of products being imported, transported and sold at every given time.

“The portal shows what product is in transit in terms of volume, what quantity is in the jetty, what volume has gone into the pipelines, what quantity has gone into NNPC depots, private depots and refinery depots. So, we have an accurate accounting of every molecule of products that we have in our system.

“Already, the members of Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) are now purchasing products online seamlessly, while the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) and other relevant downstream stakeholders are expected to start transacting business on the platform soon” NNPC added.