Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru, has reassured Nigerians that the nation’s dependency on exporting crude oil overseas and then importing the refined products would soon be over. He said by the end of 2019 Nigeria would achieve at least 90% refining capacity.
Baru who spoke at the 50th Offshore Technology Conference, in Houston, Texas, said that achieving full refining capacity from the four refineries in the country would turn Nigeria into a net exporter of refined petroleum products, and not just a net exporter of crude oil.
He said that in terms of refining and production of local petroleum products, the nation is motivated to figure out the problem and is working to end importation by the end of 2019. Talks are already ongoing with the original constructors of the refineries to meet the 2019 deadline.
To achieve this the NNPC GMD said the model for the rehabilitation of the four refineries would be a contractor-finance model, which requires near zero financial commitment from the government. He said the process is almost complete and the successful companies for the different projects will be announced soon.
Reports show that refineries in Nigeria are operating far below their expected capacity of 445,000 barrels per day as a result of neglect, pipeline vandalism and sabotage, which means that the country presently has to import nearly all the fuel it consumes.
Photo Credit: Guardian & Daily Post
