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By Adewale Sanyaolu
The continuous hold on the downstream petroleum industry which is making it nearly impossible for the market to be fully deregulated may slightly distort market elements, Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of OVH Energy Marketing Limited(Oando Licensee), Mr. Huub Stokman, has said.
Stokman stated this at the CEO’s Round Table, at the recently concluded Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja with the theme “Revitalising the Industry: Future Fuels and Energy Transition.”
He maintained that the current challenge around fuel supply and distribution shows us that as an industry, we need to have a good emergency plan.
Stokman called for more collaboration among relevant stakeholders in the industry to develop the necessary measures that can improve infrastructural development in the sector to meet customers’ needs.
‘‘ If the refineries go down for maintenance, what then do we do?. We should use today’s challenges as a learning opportunity for the future, he advocated.”
On Midstream and Downstream infrastructural development, he said the industry needs more significant infrastructure investment to expand and boost jetties, pipelines, depots, trucks and human capacity development for a safe operation.
‘‘We recognise that the industry needs more funding and investment to achieve all of these whilst customers’ demands are met and creating values to the end users,” he said.
He further stated that the new refineries will change the supply landscape, and Nigeria becoming self sufficient in the production of refined fuel, this, he said, is a major milestone. ‘‘If this happens combined with a good competitive environment (a level playing field), the customer can decide the best price served and who they want to buy from. New refineries will produce cleaner fuels which is good for the environment, and for the good health of all Nigerians.”
He commended the Federal Government for the signing of the Petroleum Industry Act(PIA) and the swift response of the Authority Chief Executive in the implementation of the Act. He, however, observed that the postponement of full deregulation of industry will pose a lot of challenges to the industry. ‘‘As it is the decade of gas, we should also capture gas (LPG, CNG, LNG) as a substantial part of the energy mix of Nigeria: – in terms of Energy Self sufficiency and towards a sustainable future.
Stokman further commended the efforts to bring together industry stakeholders to share ideas on how to move the country forward. “This is our fourth participation at the NIES, and it is a wonderful platform for players in both upstream and downstream. This a great event which brings in foreign and local experts to exchange ideas, opinions, trends and outlook for the future.”
