Business
NNPC to end importation of fuel by Dec 2024 – Kyari
Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) says the company would end the importation of refined petroleum products by December 2024.
This, he said, is because all the country’s refineries would be operational by then.
Kyari also projected that the national oil firm would grow its revenue to N4.5tn at the end of 2023 adding that the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, under NNPCL’s management, would be completed by December this year.
The NNPC boss disclosed this when he led officials of the company to a meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
At the meeting in Abuja, Kyari declared that Nigeria was on track to stop the importation of refined petroleum products in 2024 and would emerge as a net exporter of the commodities in the same year.
He also provided explanations on the commencement of operations of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries
The company’s helmsman said all refineries would become fully operational, adding that the country would become a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of 2024.
He blamed the petroleum subsidy for inactive refineries in Nigeria over the years, stressing that the removal of the subsidy was already attracting a lot of private-sector investments.
“I can confirm to you that by the end of December this year, we will start the Port Harcourt refinery; early in the first quarter of 2024, we will start the Warri refinery and by the end of 2024, Kaduna refinery will come into operation,” he said.
“This is the commitment we are giving today and you can hold us accountable for this. In 2024, many of the initiatives including the rehabilitation of our refineries and also the efforts of small-scale refineries, and the upcoming Dangote refinery, will make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products in 2024.
“We will no longer be talking about fuel importation by the end of 2024. I am very optimistic that this will crystallise,” he said.
Kyari pledged that by the end of 2023, the expected government revenue from the company would hit N4.5tn, as NNPCL now returns value to shareholders in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act.
On his part, Abbas called for the privatisation of oil refineries in the country to address the perennial crisis bedeviling the oil sector.
While describing the state of the refineries as shameful, Abbas added that NNPCL workers’ work hours in the last 20 years could be less than a month, yet they get paid, promoted, and cared for.
He said, “There is a need to make these refineries have multi-dimensional uses. If there is no crude oil, are there other activities that can make the workers active so that what they earn is deserved? I need you and your management to look at how we can turn around these decades of losses.
“One way to do so is to find a way to privatise these refineries. We have spent so much money and time deceiving ourselves that some businesses can be run by the government.
“In the case of the refineries, we have now realised that some sectors of NNPCL business can only be handled by the private sector and our refineries are one of those.
“The inadequacies will become manifest as soon as the Dangote refinery comes on board because the competition will be there and inefficiencies of the refineries will become more naked.
“I want you to put it as part of your cardinal objectives ways to privatise our refineries so that they can be active. Shortly, they will be able to compete with new refineries that will come up,” he said.
Abbas said that the NNPCL is central to the economic development of Nigeria pledging the commitment of the house to supporting the company to succeed.
According to him, the House is concerned about the high rate of oil theft, saying it is draining revenue, affecting forex availability, and causing inflation in the country.
The Speaker maintained that the House had inaugurated a special committee on oil theft to interface with stakeholders to address oil theft in the country.
