It is Shameful Nigeria’s Refineries Not Working, Says NNPC GMD
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Mele Kyari, Monday described the state of Nigeria’s refineries as shameful.
Kyari said it was a pity that Nigeria’s refineries were not working, adding that it is even sad that Nigeria has remained a net importer of petroleum products.
Speaking on the occasion of the 2019 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigerian Annual International Conference and Exhibition (SPE NAICE), in Lagos, he said the NNPC has been challenged by this situation.
According to him, “ Because our refineries are not operating optimally and today not at all, we become net importer of petroleum products; it is a very big shame for us as a nation, and as professionals, we can give you any excuse whether you are a chemical engineer or petroleum engineer, or scientists, whatever we are, today, it is a shame that this nation is a net importer of petroleum products and we are going to change that.
“And we want to do it in two ways. One is that, NNPC will get its acts together; we will fix refineries, and there are other initiatives. Of course, there are other small interventions to support modular refineries that people are trying to fix; that we will work with the Permanent Secretary to make sure we fix it. We know why they are not doing it; the reason is very simple: everyone wants to know his transfer price in the date of the refinery, so we will fix that so that there is clarity of the proceeds of production.”
He noted that Nigeria has not been willing to invest in its oil and gas industry for a number of reasons.
He added that it is another shame that with 197 trillion cubic feet of gas, Nigeria has no power plants to run even with the abundant gas resources.
He promised that the NNPC would move to put in place gas resources into the domestic market instead of just remaining in a state of lamentation.
He added, “As many of my colleagues have pointed out without being specific, gas to industry, gas to power initiative, we will keep talking about it,” he said, adding: “We are unable to deliver gas to domestic market as an industry for many reasons.”
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