AS PORT-HARCOURT AND WARRI PUMP 7M LITRES DAILY KADUNA REFINERY IS SET TO PUMP 4M LITRES DAILY
AS PORT-HARCOURT AND WARRI PUMP 7M LITRES DAILY KADUNA REFINERY IS SET TO PUMP 4M LITRES DAILY
BY:
Nurudeen Dauda
April 25, 2016.
nurudeendauda24@yahoo.com
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“Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries now produce 5 and 2 million litres of petrol each per day” –Dr Ibe Kachikwu. Kaduna refinery is expected to start pumping 4 litres daily this week. Nigeria consumes about 30m litres of petroleum product (Premium Motor Spirit [PMS]) daily. We were once told that, Nigeria consumes about 41m litres of PMS daily perhaps the “figures” were inflated due to the “Subsidy payments” being given to the importers then.
However, Dr Ibe Kachikwu at his ministerial screening last year, said: since he assumed office as GMD-NNPC what was close to reality was 30m litres daily consumption, he however, added that since his appointment as the GMD- NNPC the consumption has not reached 30m litres daily.
Nigeria has a total installed capacity of 445,000 barrels of its refineries (70,755,000 mat 159 per barrel).Port Harcourt refinery has an installed capacity of 210,000 barrels (33,390,000 m at 159 litres per barrel [42 gallons]). Warri Refinery has 125,000 installed capacity (19,875,000m at 159 litres per barrel [42 gallons]) and Kaduna Refinery has an installed capacity of 110,000(17,490,000m at 159 litres per barrel [42 gallons]).
If we can make our refineries work at their install capacities we will be exporting refined product after serving local demand instead of importing. Unfortunately, before this government comes in, all the refineries were not working. What a shame!
The youngest refineries in Nigeria (Kaduna & Warri) were built in 1977/1978 under the supervision of President Buhari then minister of petroleum. This means that the newest refinery in Nigeria was built 38years back. What was the population of Nigeria as well as the daily fuel consumption at that time compare to now? By the time president Buhari left government in 1985 the population of Nigeria was 83.9 m. All the refineries were working. We were exporting 100,000 barrels of our locally refined crude. However, by the time Buhari returns after 30 years our population is about 180m now, and none of the refineries he left was working; we are importing 100% of what we use (30m or 41m liters daily).
President Buhari was asked during his last year’s presidential chat about the malfunctioning of our refineries and he replied: “… how I wished you can be as critical to the government since the last 16 years. When I was in government we have the four (4) refineries working, with the capacities of 445,000 barrels a daily. The 400,000 barrels of Nigerian crude; we don’t import anything! Is all Nigerian crude! And we were exporting 100,000 barrels a day of refined product after satisfying home market. Now as we are talking with you, none of these four (4) refineries is efficiently working! None! Again we built more than twenty (20) depots, we laid more than 3,500 pipelines, and we have more than six (6) pumping stations. We pumped from Zaria to Gusau, from Zaria to Maiduguri to Kano. All that infrastructure has been destroyed! Why can’t they even maintain what they inherited…?”(President Buhari’s media chat).
He was also asked in the chat and he said: “… our first priority now we can’t do it overnight is to get our refineries working, what is dedicated 4450,000 barrels per day can be refined at home and that would be at least 60% of our requirement; then for the 40% we can do the swap… they failed to maintain four (4) refineries, they failed to maintain about 3,500 pipelines, they failed to maintain the pumping stations. With the cost of petroleum barrel over a hundred $100 they failed to do that. Now it is costing about $37…” (President Buhari’s media chat).
Some people have argued that our refineries have not been working for long, but the crisis was not as bad as the one we experienced in recent times. Well, unless one has “short memory” or wants to be “hypocritical” with the “fuel scarcity” issue, scarcity in Nigeria has been “perennial”. However, what makes the recent scarcity different is the issue of “Foreign exchange” which is occasioned by falls in the crude oil price in the world market form as high as $115 in June,2014 to as low as $27 per barrel in January,2016.
Dr Ibe Kachikwu stated that: “the country required a total of investment in excess of about $700 million to upgrade the refineries” (Daily Trust: April 25, 2016:p.20). Assistant Director, Emerald Energy Institute for petroleum and Energy Economics, Policy and Strategic Studies, Prof. Chijioke Nwaozuzu said: “…about $i.6bn is required to completely rehabilitate the three refineries to bring them to the best efficiency level. He added under Kalu Idika Kalu Task force on National Refineries the required investment for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries was put at $1.6bn. Kaduna refinery $40m, Warri $849m and Port Harcourt $463m. Over $2.83bn will be required to revamp PPMC facilities…” (Daily Trust: April 25, 2016:p.20).
“Buhari warned vandals and saboteurs blowing up oil and gas installations to desist immediately or face the same drastic action being taken against Boko Haram by the armed forces… I am aware that in the past two weeks, the national grid collapsed a number of times. I hope this message will reach the vandals and saboteurs who are blowing up pipelines and installation. We will deal with them the way we dealt with Boko Haram”- President Buhari-(Daily Trust: April 14, 2016: p. 3).
The Nigerian Navy has launched “Operation Tsare Teku” (Operation protects the sea). The government is strategizing on how to deal with the vandals activities that is affecting the petroleum industry. I call on my compatriot, the vandals in the interests of the suffering Nigerian masses due to your nefarious and ungodly act of vandalism to as matter of urgency repent and embrace peace. When pipelines are blown up you are not painting President Buhari’s government black but you are inflicting pains on Nigerians including your own brothers and sisters down there.
May God bless Nigeria!