Page 12 - DMEA Week 29

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P o l i C y
Nigerian senate rejects move to remove subsidy
e senate yesterday rejected move to remove oil subsidy insisting that it will make the prices of the products to go up.
e red chamber also said it will investigate the 43 re neries licences granted to Nigerians who are yet to commence operation.
e lawmakers urged companies who were granted licences to immediately commence building and operation just like the Dangote re nery.
Lawmakers urged its Petroleum Committee on downstream and Upstream to invite the Ministry of Petroleum and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC,)to brief it on the status of existing re neries including the status of newly licensed modular re neries in the country.
e decision followed a motion by sen Rose Oko (PDP - Cross- River) on a motion entitled, existing Petroleum subsidy: ensuring self -su ciency in Domestic Re ning of Petroleum Products.
speaking on the motion at plenary, Oko said although Nigeria produces 1.7million barrels of crude oil per day but its moribund re neries had very little re ning capacity.
she said the nation imports roughly 90 per cent of its fuel, negating much of the bene ts accruing to oil producing nations from high crude prices.
she said despite the resources expended on turn around maintenance, none of the NNPC’s four re neries currently functions up to 50,per cent of their combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day.
she said the objectives of modular
re neries was to overcome the huge capital requirement that impedes establishment and maintenance of large scale re neries.
is, she said would ensure self-su ciency in the production and supply of petroleum products.
she said data from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) website had indicated that a total of 633,000 barrels per day re ning capacity had already been lost due to the expiration of licenses of both conventional and modular re nery projects.
Oko, who also spoke on the fuel subsidy said more than 160 million dollars was spent on subsidy in early 2017.
she said Nigeria had introduced petroleum subsidy in the 1980s as a temple art measure to strengthen local re ning industry and improve product a ordability and domestic consumption.
she, however, said successive administrations’ had failed to make Nigeria self-su cient in domestic production.
e senator said despite the dire need to exit petroleum importation and subsidy, there was neither a comprehensive plan to ensure its actualisation.
she said there was no form of technical and nancial aid for re nery license holders to ensure the re neries become operational.
senators who supported the motion include sen. Barau Jibril, ompson sekibo,Ifeanyi Uba,and Ali Ndume among others.
Ndume said he does not support removal of oil subsidy adding that private individuals are going into re nery and should be supported.
“It is still the responsibilities of the NNPC to nd a way forward. even if they remove the subsidy without adequate supply, there will be a problem. I am not supporting the removal of
subsidy,” the Lawmaker said.
e senators said there was an urgent need
to ensure the optimal performance of the re neries.
ey also called for grants to support the actualisation of the 43 modular re neries in the country.
e senate in a voice vote urged the committee on petroleum downstream and upstream,when constituted to report back to the senate on the status of modular and existing re neries in eight weeks’ time.
In his remark President of the senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan said the motion was designed to ensure that the 43 licensed modular re neries became operational. He said there was the need to support them to become active. He said the senate must make it a duty to ensure the establishment of the modular re neries. He said the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was also key the optimal utilisation of the re neries and emergence of the modular re neries.
leadershiP
r e f i n i n G
Veolia wins deal for Al-Zour wastewater plant
Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) has awarded Veolia via its Veolia Middle east subsidiary the contract for the operation and maintenance of its re nery wastewater treatment plant in Al Zour in southern Kuwait. e $63mn contract covers a period of 7 years.
It is one of the largest re nery complexes in the world under development. As soon as it is commissioned, the Al Zour re nery will
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Week 29 24•July•2019