- Saturday, May 4, 2024
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The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on
Wednesday challenged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to
seek ways of deepening the consumption of locally produced petroleum products.
He also called for the
establishment of modular refineries and renovation of existing ones “to create
a multiplier effect which will include creation of jobs for our teeming youth,
and more security for the country.”
Akpabio made these remarks when
the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, visited him in Abuja.
He also explained efforts being made by the
red chamber to end oil theft and pipeline vandalism which, according to him, cost
the nation revenue losses.
The Senate President said the red
chamber would partner with the NNPCL in creating legislations that would enhance
the ease of doing business for stakeholders in the oil and gas sector.
He commended NNPCL for ensuring
an end to the fuel subsidy regime and called for capacity building for
legislatures to ensure proper legislative input in the sector.
He told the delegation from the
oil giant that Nigerians want to hear good news and “you came with a very good
news. And this is good news.”
He expressed satisfaction at the
resolution of the deficit in the account of the company, saying that the Senate
is “a people focused Senate” that is set to bring benefits to Nigerians.
Kyari assured the Senate that in
the next three months the country will not witness any fuel queues again.
The NNPCL GCEO said the passage
of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has ensured that “energy supply is stable,
creating cheaper energy” for Nigerians.
He disclosed that the company has
“robust supply plans from now until next year; we have always planned for three
months. And I guarantee you your Excellency that we will not see any shortages
in our country.
“You may see a number of
scattered reports that of filling stations that people will call it queues.
They are not.”
He also insisted that the NNPCL
occupies over 30 per cent of the downstream sector in the oil and gas sector,
adding that the Company will “optimally provide” petroleum to consumers.
While linking the challenges in
the sector to oil theft and pipeline vandalism, Kyari said the country has
recovered up to N1.7 million barrels of crude oil following increased
monitoring and supervision of the facilities by independent pipeline security
companies, and the military.
“In the last five to six months, government
security agencies and private security companies have done things differently,
and it has yielded results,” and underscored that the oil regulator aims at
meeting its targeted contribution to the budget.
He told the leadership of the
Senate that the NNPCL would restart the Port Harcourt refinery in December,
followed by the Warri Refinery to start in the first quarter of 2024.
He added that these would be
complemented by small scale refineries, as he underscored that the company has
recorded N274 million profit in 2021, which represents a growth from 2018.
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