The Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC, has lamented a massive glitch in operations following the incessant vandalism of gas pipelines in the nation.
The bottler of Coke, Fanta and other soft drinks said it was bleeding as it now relies solely on diesel to power its plants.
NBC, which said that the cost of diesel was five times that of gas, said that it currently receives zero gas supply as all the gas available were being diverted to power generation for the nation.
The plant manager of NBC, Engr. Remi Bodunrin, who spoke during a media tour of the Ikeja plant of the company in Lagos, told newsmen that for many years the company enjoyed 80 to 90 per cent supply of gas until the downward trend started in February, saying, “As I speak to you, gas supply to our plant is currently zero.
“Since the development arose, we have had to rely on diesel as against gas, which is on a 5:1 ratio in cost. What this implies is that our profit margin is taking a slide and this no doubt portents danger for our operations in the country.
“The cost of diesel per unit of energy is greater than the cost of gas per unit of energy. The cost of maintaining a diesel-generating infrastructure is higher than that of maintaining gas. When you add this together, overall, the cost of diesel is higher than the cost of gas for manufacturing.”
Bodunrin, who did not state exactly how much the company was spending on diesel per month, said the cost was eating deep into the profits of the company.
