President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari,
recently spoke to some journalists working
for Daily Trust and he gave his own
perspectives on the issues bedeviling the oil
industry.
Read below:
One burning issue is fuel subsidy. I believe
you are aware of the queues in major cities
like Lagos and Abuja. The fuel importers say
they are unsure of the direction of the new
government in this area. Have you
considered maintaining or withdrawing this
subsidy or are you questioning whether it
didn’t exist at all?
One of the problems I have, other than the
military, is the petroleum industry where I
served for three and a half years under
General Obasanjo. When people start talking
about this subsidy I honestly get confused. I
will tell you this, and I hope it will answer
what you want to know. Back then we had
a refinery in Port Harcourt, which was
refining 30,000 barrels a day of Nigerian
crude.
Later, it was upgraded to refine 100,000
barrels a day. Another refinery was built in
Port Harcourt to refine 150,000 barrels per
day of Nigerian crude. So, Port Harcourt
alone had the capacity to refine 250,000
barrels per day of Nigerian crude.
But when I found myself as the Minister of
Petroleum I set up another refinery in Warri
for 100, 000 barrels per day of Nigerian
crude and the Kaduna refinery a 100, 000
barrels per day. So Nigeria built capacity to
refine 450,000 a day.
Four Hundred thousands of which is purely
Nigerian crude, but 50,000 was imported.
The type of crude could be Venezuelan,
which could be a bit heavier. But the lighter
ones – kerosene, aviation fuel, diesel, PMS of
different grades could be produced from
our crude because Nigerian crude is about
the best in the world.
If you could recall, after finishing as Minister
of Petroleum, I subsequently became Head
of State. You remember, I appointed
Professor Tam David West as the Minister of
Petroleum. When we rounded up bunkers,
collected their illegal jetties and allowed
jetties for only big firms which were doing
production and development in the country,
we were shocked that we had too much
fuel.
We had to begin to export 100,000 barrels
per day. Don’t forget that we didn’t stop at
building refineries, we built more than 20
depots during my time, from Port Harcourt
to Ilorin, Makurdi, Suleija, Maiduguri and
Kano. More than 3,000 pipelines were laid to
connect them. A number of stations were
also built to take the trailers off the road,
save lives and the infrastructure on the road.
It is more economical because each trailer
uses fuel.
We did all that in this country and we didn’t
borrow any money as far as I know. It’s
Nigerian money. From each Nigerian crude,
whether Akwa Ibom, Bonny Light or
whatever it is, you can work out how much
products it will give you; how much petrol it
will give you; how much diesel it will give
you if you want to produce diesel. We could
tell how much Nigerian crude cost, the cost
of transportation from there to the refinery,
the cost of refining, the cost of
transportation to the pump stations and
maybe 5 per cent go for overhead.
I can understand if Nigerians pay for those
costs. But somebody is saying he is
subsidizing Nigerians.
Who is subsidizing who?
But they argue that the price should not be
the same in Lagos and Daura, for example?
It has to be the same because it is the
Nigerian crude.
But they consider the cost of
transportation?
Why didn’t it make any difference when we
were around? Why did we build the
network of pipelines? Why did we build the
network of depots? What can Nigerians
benefit from the God-given gift of
petroleum? No refinery is built unless there
is an in-depth research that there is enough
reserve of up to six layers to be produced.
The argument I have heard is that refineries
are aged. Mostly, they are performing at less
than half of their capacity…?
You can’t defend these corrupt and
incompetent people. You can’t defend them.
There used to be what they call turn-
around-maintenance. You close the refinery
in order to overhaul and clean it. What we
did: we asked our producers, we need
various refined products of this type at this
time when the refineries are being cleaned.
Take this type of Nigerian crude and bring
us the refined products.
What we don’t need, we will calculate and
pay you as fees for refining and
transportation. If it is more than what the
crude can handle, then we take it from the
treasury. But you are trying to justify all
these frauds by saying the refineries are
aged.
Of course, they are actually aged?
They said the refineries are aged. The
pipelines are leaking. There is vandalisation.
Who ordered the vandalisation?
Does it suggest that you don’t believe in the
subsidy? So, you are not going to agree to
its continuation in anyway?
I would like to be on ground and find out
what really has been going wrong. Why is it
that people are doing round-tripping with
the Nigerian products and take money from
the treasury? Some people are still in court.
You know about it. So, I’m not taking
anything for granted. But I will try and find
out what went wrong.

Kai buhari

You see why education is very important; he needs school in alot of things

4stylz:
You see why education is very important; he needs school in alot of things

you mean he isn't educated?

See the confused man that would lead a confused nation to greatness.

Biafra loading

Av always been a Gej supporter,,,
But kudos to Buhari on dis
Av really being enlightened

4stylz:
You see why education is very important; he needs school in alot of things

You are the illiterate here.You only read the headline. Lol, foolish TANoids

Buhari go skul u no gree. How will you understand?

A P Ceeeeeeeeeeeeeee... All Problems Continius