Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, has emphasised his commitment to holding the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) accountable for the completion dates of the country’s refinery rehabilitation.
He disclosed this to State House Correspondents at the end of the three-day retreat at the Presidential Villa .
The NNPCL is tasked with the extensive task of rehabilitating three refineries within Nigeria, aimed at reducing fuel scarcity and promoting the use of natural gas.
Despite substantial investments of over $25 billion in the past decade, the refineries were operating at less than 30 per cent of their capacity, as reported by the 9th National Assembly.
In response to this, the Senate has established an ad-hoc committee to investigate the NNPCL’s spending of N11.35 trillion on the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the refineries.
The committee’s goal is to examine the best strategies for commercialising and ensuring profitability of the state-owned refineries, involving the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), NNPCL, and the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
When asked about the expected completion dates for the refinery rehabilitation, Lokpobiri explained, “I have gone round all the refineries, and from what they have briefed me, Port Harcourt’s Phase 1 will be ready by the end of this year.
I am not the one who is directly in charge of rehabilitation; it is the NNPCL, and they have told me, and I am holding them accountable.”
He continued by outlining the progress in various phases of rehabilitation, stating, “For Warri refinery, they said Phase 1 will be ready by the end of the year.
“Phase 2 and 3 in Port Harcourt will be ready next year, and the whole of Kaduna refinery will be ready by the end of next year. That is what they said, and I am holding them accountable to their own words.”
Lokpobiri stressed the need to boost domestic production to support the refineries.
He acknowledged the upcoming Dangote refinery and the challenges faced by modular refineries due to limited feedstock.
To address this, he has streamlined the licensing process for modular refineries, stating, “I have also said I don’t want to give people licences and they use it as souvenirs; if you are given a licence, you must use it within the terms or else I will cancel it.”
Lokpobiri highlighted that increasing production is crucial to resolving the country’s fuel crisis.
He expressed confidence in addressing issues related to insecurity, lack of investments, and other concerns in the oil sector and aims to achieve ambitious production targets. “Before the end of the year, we should be doing at least close to two million barrels per day,” he said.
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