By Fredrick Wright
NIGERIAis on the verge of halting fuel importation from next year when Dangote refinery begins operation and the Federal Government also restores the existing refineries to 90 percent installed capacity.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, at the 49th session of the state house briefing, expressed optimism that the much-anticipated completion of the Dangote refinery will complement the output from the rehabilitated government-owned refineries.
He also said the country currently loses about 700,000 barrels of crude oil to theft and pipeline vandalism.
Fuel importation has been the government’s only option to meet domestic consumption, since the existing refineries cannot meet demands.
Kyari said that NNPC owned 20 percent equity in the Dangote Refinery and has a first right of refusal to supply crude oil to the plant.
“But we saw this energy transition challenge coming. We knew that time will come where you would look for people to buy your crude and you will not find,” he said.
“And that means we have locked down ability to sell crude oil for 33,000 barrels minimum by right for the next 20 years and by right also we have access to 20 percent of the production from that plant.”
Kyari said that the Dangote refinery, which would begin producing by the middle of 2023, can produce up to 50 million litres of PMS.
“The combination of that and our ability to bring back our refinery will eliminate any importation of petroleum products into this country next year. You would not see any importation into this country next year.
“This is very practical. As a matter of fact, when we are done with our own refineries and the Dangote refinery, there remain other small initiatives that we are doing, small modular condensate refineries that we are building. If that happens and we are very optimistic it will happen, you would see that this country will now be a net exporter.
“As a matter of fact, it will be a hub for the export of petroleum products, not just to the West African sub-region. This will happen. The flow of supply will change by the middle of next year, it will change. You will not need the importation of petroleum products into this country by the middle of next year,” he said.
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