There appears to be an end in sight to the recurring long queues at the filling stations nationwide as the expected completion of the ongoing maintenance of the nation’s four refineries and the almost completed Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Lagos will ensure that refined petroleum products are no longer imported to the country from mid-2023.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, who made this known Tuesday while addressing a news conference at the State House, Abuja, also stated that the NNPC shut some pipelines down for inability to meet production cost, due to losses.
The NNPCL boss further said the phenomenon of oil theft is now very rampant with mosques, churches serving as tapping points by oil thieves.
Commenting on the need to end petroleum products’ importation by middle of 2023, Kyari stressed that with a combination of production from the national refineries, which are currently being refurbished and will be ready by next year, and the products from the Dangote Refinery, in which Nigeria has a 20% stake, Nigeria should meet domestic needs, without any need for importation from mid-2023.
His words: “NNPC owns 20% equity in the Dangote refinery and not only that, and we’re very proud of this. We’re not only owning 20% equity, we have the first right of refusal to supply crude oil to that plant.
“But we saw this energy transition challenge coming we knew at that time will come when you will look for people who will buy your crude oil you will not find and that means that we have locked down ability to sell crude oil for 330,000 barrels minimum by right for the next 20 years.
“Also, by right also we have access to 20% of the production from that plant. That means that whatever it does, you know we have a right to take 20% of that production as part of our equity and this refinery will come on stream by latest by the mid of next year.
“Projection is first quarter, but we think that it can come up latest by the middle of next year. If it does, this refinery alone, because it has a 650,000 per barrel capacity and a different technology, which means that it can crack the crude in a manner that you can have more gasoline than a typical refinery.
“That means that the refinery has ability to produce up to 50 million litres of PMS. So, the combination of that and our own ability to bring back our refinery will completely eliminate any potential petroleum product import into this country next year. You will not see any importation into this country next year. This is very practical. This is possible.
“As a matter of fact, when we’re done with our refineries and the Dangote Refinery, very many small initiatives that we are doing; small, modular, condenser refineries that we’re building, if that happens, and we are very optimistic it will happen.
“You will see that this country will now be a net exporter, we hope to export petroleum products, not just to the west African sub region, but to the rest of the world. This will happen, the flow of supply will change – by middle of next year it will change. So, you will have no need for importation of petroleum products into this country by middle of next year”.
Lamenting over the level of loses on the nation’s pipelines, Kyari said the illegal business of pipeline vandals cuts across different regions and religious organisations where the pipelines pass through, adding that some of the pipelines are illegally connected around churches and mosques.
Emphasising that the issue of crude oil theft is real, he said the company was not helpless as its efforts were paying off.
According to him, 295 illegal connections were discovered in one line in less than 200 meters, and that the company with the help of the security agencies and the directive of the Chief of Defence Staff, were able to intervene.
He said so far, 30 Speed Boats, 179 Wooden Boats, 37 trucks have been arrested, adding that the authorities have taken the decision not to arrest any longer but to burn such confiscated products.
Besides, he said 122 persons including highly placed individuals have been arrested between April and August, 2022 and that some of them have been handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.
Kyari said 739 ovens for the illegal crude oil theft have been discovered and some destroyed, and 344 reservoirs created and 355 Cooking Pots also discovered, stressing that the level of the illegal business was enormous.
Explaining why some oil facilities across the country had to be shut down, Kyari said “as you may also be aware, because of the very unfortunate acts of vandals along our major pipelines from Atlas Cove all the to Ibadan, and all others connecting all the 37 depots that we have across the country. You know, none of them can take delivery of products today.
“And the reason is very simple. For some of the lines, for instance, from Warri to Benin, we haven’t operated that line for 15 years. Every molecule of product that we put get lost and, of course, you remember the sad incident of the fire incident very close to Warri, close to Sapele that killed so many people.
“So, we had to shut it down and as we speak, ladies and gentlemen, the level of losses that we have on our product pipeline, and I’m sure you may have seen it and I’ll invite you at the right time so we can take a look at it jointly.
“You remember that Lagos area. When a fire outbreak happened in one of our pipelines, we discovered that some of the pipelines were actually connected to individuals homes and not only that, and with all sensitivity to our religious believes, you know, some of the pipelines and some of the products that we found, are actually in churches and in mosques.
“That means that everybody is involved. There is no way you will take products, bring in trucks in populated neighborhoods, load it and leave without everybody else knowing about it. That everybody includes members of the community, members of the religious leadership and also and most likely government officials of all natures, including security agencies personnel. They are everywhere and I’ve seen this even in the Niger Delta. There’s no way you would deliver a volume and lose up to 30 percent and you will continue to put products in this line.”
On the controversial pipelines surveillance contract recently given to the former Niger Delta agitator, Government Ekpemupolo also known as Tompolo, the NNPCL boss explained that the contract was not awarded to Tompolo as a person but a company he has interest in.
He stated that it was not the first time that individuals within the Niger Delta region were awarded a contract for pipeline surveillance, noting that the contract was for the interest of the people.
He added that the federal government has taken the right decision to hire private contractors to man its oil pipeline network nationwide.
Kyari argued that although the security agencies are doing their part, end-to-end pipeline surveillance would require the involvement of private entities and community stakeholders.
According to him: “What we did is to do three things. First, to ensure the government’s security agencies play their part, we have our Navy, the Army and are doing an excellent job of containing this, but as you do this sustenance is everything and therefore we also decided that we need private contractors to man the right of way and also operate outside the right of way so that they can also join us to manage members of the community
“We don’t have access to that and therefore, we put up a framework where contractors were selected through a tender process for people who can do it, not everyone can do it and Tompolo is just mentioned, we’re dealing with corporate entities.
“He may have interest in the company, we’re not dealing with Tompolo, but we know that he has interest in that company. We know that we’re engaging all other individuals who will be of help to us in this situation. This has happened severally over time and the end result was that it was contained under a process like this and we believe that we are taking the right decision”.
Deji Elumoye
Follow us on:
