I’ll cancel modular refinery licences not in use, Lokpobiri warns operators

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), says the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited will be held accountable for the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries.

The minister spoke while fielding questions from journalists at the end of the three-day ministerial retreat at the State House conference centre, in Abuja.

The NNPCL is tasked with rehabilitating three refineries in the country to reduce fuel scarcity and increase natural gas use.

In May, the house of representatives ad hoc committee disclosed that the federal government has spent a total of N11.34 trillion on the rehabilitation of the country’s refineries from 2010 to 2020.

Currently, the federal government is working to revamp the refineries in Port Harcourt,  Kaduna, and Warri.

Providing details on the rehabilitation of the refineries, Lokpobiri said the project was on course.

“Yes, the rehabilitation of the refineries if you could remember, was started by the previous administration,” he said.

“..and as part of the President’s directive, I have gone round all the refineries and from what they have briefed me, Port Harcourt has 3 phases, so phase 1 will be ready by the end of this year.

“I am not the one who is directly in charge of rehabilitation, it is the NNPCL and they have told me and I am holding them accountable.

“For Warri refinery, they said phase 1 will be ready by the end of the year. Phase 2 and 3 in Port Harcourt will be ready next year and the whole of Kaduna refinery will be ready by the end of next year. That is what they said and I am holding them accountable to their own words.

“I will be going there in the next few weeks. I go there regularly and sometimes without a schedule so that nobody plans for me. I just appear to see what is going on.

“I believe that those refineries, if we are able to achieve some level of rehabilitation by the end of this year, will also improve our domestic refining capacity. But that is not even the problem, Dangote refinery too is coming.”

‘LICENCES OF MODULAR REFINERIES NOT IN USE TO BE CANCELLED’

Lokpobiri also said the licences of refineries not in use will be cancelled.

“We have a lot of modular refineries that we have given licenses but the challenge has been the feedstock. Even if you have the modular refinery do you have the crude to be able to refine?” the minister added.

“That’s why I said unless we produce sufficient quantities, even if the refineries are rehabilitated there will be no feedstock.

“So my challenge is to ramp up production so that we can see how we can feed not only the big refineries but also the modular refineries, these are the real employers of labour and they will do the magic.

“What I have done is also liberalise the process to acquire licences. Before I came they said sometimes it takes so long to acquire licences, so I said I don’t want to know your face provided the requirements are met, bring them to me I will sign within 24 hours and I have signed them.

“I have also said I don’t want to give people licences and they use them as souvenirs, if you are given a licence you must use it within the terms, or else I will cancel it. Just like I didn’t know you before signing the licence, I will also cancel without blinking an eye.”

Lokpobiri also said the easiest way to get out of the country’s petrol crisis is to increase production, stating that “if we don’t, the midstream and downstream will also fail — we must produce the crude to refine before distribution”.