Senate President Godswill Akpabio has urged the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited to explore strategies for increasing the utilization of domestically produced petroleum products.
He also advocated for the establishment of modular refineries and the refurbishment of existing ones, emphasizing the potential for “a multiplier effect that will encompass job creation for our teeming youths and improved security for the country.”
During a courtesy visit by the NNPCL Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, and his management team to the National Assembly yesterday,
Akpabio pledged the Red Chamber’s collaboration with NNPCL in crafting legislation that would facilitate a more conducive business environment for stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.
Earlier, Kyari had asserted that the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act has ensured “stable energy supply, generating cheaper energy” for Nigerians.
He affirmed that the Corporation maintains “robust supply plants from now until next year; we have always planned for three months. And I assure you, Your Excellency, that we will not experience any shortages of petroleum products in our country.”
Linking the industry’s challenges to oil theft and pipeline vandalism, Kyari disclosed that the country has recovered up to 1.7 million barrels of crude oil due to enhanced monitoring and supervision of the facilities by independent pipeline security companies and the military.
He elaborated, “In the last 5-6 months, government security agencies and private security companies have adopted new approaches, and it has yielded results.”
Kyari reassured the Senate leadership that NNPCL would restart the Port Harcourt refinery in December, followed by the Warri refinery in the first quarter of 2024.
He added that these would be supplemented by small-scale refineries, highlighting that the Corporation has recorded a N274 million profit in 2021, representing an increase from 2018.
Accordingly, Kyari maintained that NNPCL could potentially post a profit exceeding N2 trillion in 2023, adding that Nigeria will become a net exporter of petroleum products by 2024.
