Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to explain why the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries are not currently producing petroleum products.
He made this disclosure on Tuesday in an interview with Channels Television.
Lokpobiri made the demand amid renewed concerns over rising petrol prices and Nigeria’s continued reliance on imported refined products.
According to him, a brief from the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, showed that the state-owned refineries are not producing refined petroleum products after gulping between N23.84 trillion and N33.11 trillion on turnaround maintenance over the past two decades.
The minister said the status of the three government-owned refineries required clarification, particularly given the resources committed to their rehabilitation and the expectation that they would contribute to domestic fuel supply.
“The last brief I got from the GCEO [Bayo Ojulari] is that it’s very unfortunate that the Port Harcourt refinery, Warri refinery and Kaduna refinery are not producing today.
“But new partnerships are being negotiated with some Chinese companies to come and invest their money and see how they can rehabilitate.”
He also addressed concerns over rising petrol prices, explaining that petroleum products are traded in a global market and that international crude oil prices and geopolitical developments can influence domestic prices.
Lokpobiri said the government was concerned about the impact of high energy costs on Nigerians but noted that market forces had limited its ability to directly control petrol prices under the deregulated regime.
When asked if those who deceived Nigerians into believing that the refineries were working should be punished, Lokpobiri said, “Call NNPC, tell them to come and account for it. I will tell them to come. Let them come and explain.”
The minister’s comments come amid renewed attention on the performance of Nigeria’s refineries and calls for greater domestic refining capacity to reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
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