KEY POINTS
- PETROAN has asked the government and NNPCL to publish a clear and workable timeline for restarting Nigeria’s refineries.
- The group questioned the impact of over $4 billion spent on rehabilitation, with refineries still largely non-operational.
- Marketers say early, decisive action is needed to cut fuel imports, save forex and create jobs before election pressures set in.
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, PETROAN, has asked the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to make a clear and realistic plan for when Nigeria’s refineries will be back in business.
Joseph Obele, a spokesperson for PETROAN, said that the association’s national president, Billy Gillis-Harry, said that Nigerians need to know when the refineries will start making things again, especially since the country is getting closer to another election cycle.
PETROAN said that the lack of clear deadlines has made people even more worried, especially since more than $4 billion has already been spent on repairs and maintenance over the years, with little to show for it in terms of steady output.
The association said that the money spent includes money that was approved and given out for the most recent rehabilitation contracts at the refineries. Even so, the plants in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna have been mostly empty for years.
The three refineries together can process 445,000 barrels of oil per day. Port Harcourt can process 210,000 barrels per day, Warri can process 125,000 barrels per day, and Kaduna can process 110,000 barrels per day. PETROAN said that if this level of capacity were used correctly, it should have greatly reduced Nigeria’s need for imported fuel.
PETROAN calls for measurable milestones
PETROAN stressed that serious infrastructure projects need clear schedules and milestones that can be measured. It raised questions about both the fate of the funds already committed and the fact that there were no publicly stated completion dates.
The association agreed with NNPCL’s claim that it is looking for strategic partners and doing project evaluations, but it said that Nigerians need specific deadlines instead of vague promises.
Gillis-Harry says that delays often get worse during election seasons because political priorities change. He said that something needs to be done quickly in the first quarter of the year to keep plans to revive the refinery from getting stuck again.
PETROAN said that operational refineries would greatly lower the cost of oil products by cutting down on fuel imports, saving foreign exchange, and easing pressure on the naira.
The group also said that local refining would create thousands of jobs directly and indirectly along the petroleum value chain, while also making energy security and supply more stable.
The group said again that it would help NNPCL and the Federal Government, and that credible foreign technical and financial partners are ready to help bring the refinery back to life.
