Confusing signals over PIB as Kachikwu says refineries are not for sale

Hopes that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will receive the full support of the new government were hit on Wednesday as Ibe Kachikwu, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), said the nation’s refineries are not for sale.

Under the PIB, which is still awaiting legislative approval, the refineries are to be privatised so that they can operate as commercial entities.

Ohi Alegbe, NNPC spokesman, said, however, that the corporation would commence the unbundling of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Limited (PPMC) into three different companies.

Kachikwu revealed his plans during an official tour of the Okrika Jetty and the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited.

Alegbe said: “Dr. Kachikwu stated that the PPMC would be split into a pipelines company that would focus primarily on the maintenance of the over five thousand kilometers pipelines of the Corporation; a storage company that would maintain all the over 23 depots and a products marketing company that would market and sell petroleum products.

“He informed that the move would ensure that the right set of skills are rightly positioned and the number of leakages in terms of pipelines break and products loss are reduced to the barest minimum.

“The GMD noted that the ongoing phased rehabilitation of all the state owned refineries would be given an accelerated vigour with the aim of reducing petroleum products importation into the country, adding that at full capacity, all the refineries could supply only 20 million litres of premium motor spirit otherwise known as petrol on a daily basis.

“Dr. Kachikwu affirmed that the refineries would not be sold but joint venture partners with established track records of success in refining would be invited to support the running of the refineries in order to ensure efficiency.

“He stated that efforts are in top gear to fix all the crude and petroleum products pipelines across the country stressing that the Nigerian air force would be engaged to provide aerial survey of the pipelines, the Nigerian Army Engineering corps to fix and police the pipelines and the Nigerian Navy to provide marine surveillance for the network of pipelines.

“Dr. Kachikwu commended the NNPC’s Engineers for the successful execution of the ongoing phased rehabilitation of the refineries while urging them to prepare a replacement programmes for obsolete spare parts of all the Corporation’s installations in order to avoid intermittent shut down of facilities.”