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The Federal Government’s projection that it will end the importation of petroleum products into the country by the first quarter of 2024 is a welcome development. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, stated this at the resumed presentation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s scorecard series (2015-2023) organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture in Abuja.
The minister further stated that the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery would be partly completed by the first quarter of 2024 as well as the fact that the 650, 000 barrel per day (bpd) capacity Dangote Refinery would also be on stream. According to the minister, the 60,000 bpd capacity refinery within the Port Harcourt Refinery complex would be ready for production by the first quarter of 2024.
Apart from the fact that the Dangote Refinery, the largest single-train refinery in the world with investment of over $25 billion, would be on stream by the end of 2023, several modular refineries projects in the country would also be ready for production.
As part of moves to ensure steady supply of petroleum products from these refineries, the Federal Government, the minister revealed, acquired 20 per cent equity stake in the Dangote Refinery as well as 30 per cent equity stake in each of the 5,000 bpd WalterSmith Modular Refinery in Ibigwe, Imo State and 10,000 bpd Duport Modular Refinery in Edo State, among others.
The plan by the Federal Government to end the importation of petroleum products by the first quarter of next year must be effectively implemented. We hope that the initiative will not end up as one of those government’s laudable pronouncements without the political will to successfully implement them. The problem with governments in this part of the world is not the lack of fanciful ideas or programmes, but the inability to implement them.
This notwithstanding, ending the importation of fuel and other petroleum products next year is feasible and achievable. What it requires is the determination of those behind it to achieve the goal. As one of the major producers of crude oil in the world, Nigeria should have no business importing refined petroleum products. Rather, it should rank among oil-producing countries exporting refined petroleum products. It is paradoxical that Nigeria still imports petroleum products despite being among the major oil-producing countries in the world. It was probably in a bid to end the importation of petroleum products that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was last year transformed to a limited liability company with a view to making profits for its investors and efficient management of the oil sector. The government’s plan was to model the NNPC Limited after Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and other such oil business entities in the world.
In addition to our existing four refineries, some of which are not functioning effectively, the Dangote Refinery and the new modular ones expected to be on stream soon, the government should encourage more investors to come and build more refineries in the sector. If we really want to end the importation of petroleum products by the first quarter of next year as government has pronounced, there is need to build more refineries in the country. Having more refineries on stream will create more jobs and boost the economy.
If Nigeria ends the importation of petroleum products, the issue of fuel subsidy and its politics will be over. Good enough, the leading presidential candidates in the 2023 general election are almost in agreement to end the questionable, corrupt and unsustainable subsidy regime. The money saved from subsidy payments can be used to fully revamp the health and education sectors. It can also be deployed to rehabilitate some of our dilapidated roads and even construct new ones.
Ending the importation of petroleum products will save the country of huge scarce foreign exchange spent annually to import fuel and other petroleum products. A new report by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that Nigeria spent $12.44 billion on the importation of petroleum products between January and October 2022.
Industry experts are of the view that government’s inability to revitalise its four refineries with a combined capacity of 445,000 bpd contributes to our reliance on imported petroleum products. The dire situation may persist except the new refineries come on stream as promised by the government. That is why the deadline for ending the importation of petroleum products into the country must be kept.
