Page 8 - DMEA Week 04 2023
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DMEA REFINING DMEA
PENGASSAN urges refining
ramp-up to limit subsidies
NIGERIA THE Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff international market price. Look at the global
Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has energy crisis. Because we are not in control, it is
expressed concern over the lack of production difficult, but for those producing their fuel, the
from the country’s four main refineries. situation is different”.
The company said last week that without con- Nigeria’s existing refineries, Kaduna (110,000
certed effort to reinvigorate downstream pro- barrels per day), Warri (110,000 bpd), Port Har-
duction Nigeria will find it hard to wean itself off court (210,000 bpd) are in various stages of dis-
fuel subsidies, an issue with which the country repair and construction, while the 650,000-bpd
has struggled. Dangote unit’s commissioning having been sub-
General Secretary of PENGASSAN ject to delays owing to supply chain issues related
Lumumba Okugbawa told The Nation: “The best to the Covid-19 pandemic. These came in addi-
way to address the problem is not rocket science.” tion to previous funding challenges that have
He continued: “This is important because we are beset the project since its conception in 2013.
not in control of the international price nor have The integrated refinery and petrochemical
enough foreign currency to buy product …. Any complex, located in the Lekki Free Zone near
subsidy that is import-driven would be a disas- Lagos, will become the largest refinery on the
ter, [and] citizens would be in a wors[e] situation continent. According to the head of the previ-
than they are in [now].” ously state-owned NNPC Ltd Mele Kyari, the
Okugbawa added: “If you remove subsidy combined efforts to upgrade older facilities and
and import, the price will skyrocket. Why Dangote’s completion would be enough to bring
can’t we look inwards and refine our products. an end to product imports, which is one of the
While we import, we are not in control of the aims of the $19bn project.
P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 04 25•January•2023
