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  NNPC refineries are like buying a car in 1970 and retained it till 2019. It has been in use and not undergone major maintenance overtime. Since you bought the car, you gave the car to a driver for commercial purpose because he needs a job, you fuel it, do yearly registration renewals while you also pay the salary of the driver. You keep funding it because it is your asset.

A data from NNPC stated that the refineries made a loss of N132.5 billion in 2018 as well a loss of N95billion in 2017. Refineries which are huge revenue earner in some countries is a source of shame in Nigeria. What a pathetic thing to note that successive administrations have no solutions to the plight of those refineries.

I have carried out some maintenance works at Warri refinery a couple of times between 2014 and 2016. I must confess, that refinery is a carcass. With the knowledge of investment I have, I cannot buy it -even at a very low price- if I don't have modern technology and adequate finance to rehabilitate it. Take it or leave it, the refineries are long dead.   

Eleme Petrochemical Limited is back to life and producing beyond installed capacity after it was privatised to Indorama Company from India. I was  part of the team that participated in the expansion jobs  in 2015 of that once upon a time, long dead company. Take a trip to Eleme Junction, Port-Harcourt, the trailers having businesses to do at the Eleme Petrochemical company will give you headache, just to know the company has been revived. 


  Privatisation has failed for many other establishments like Ajaokuta steel company, Delta Steel Company, PHCN, among others. Their privatisation failed because they were privatised with ulterior motives. They were sold to those who had neither funds, technology nor willingness to upgrade existing facilities. With political backings, those investors even duped Nigeria by taking loans from Nigerian banks, refused to invest them and later absconded with funds and several infrastructures.  

The four dead refineries have a combined processing capacity of 450 barrels per day, presently they aren't producing up to 20% of that capacity. Dangote refinery is coming up to process 650bpd of crude oil and this will go a long way at solving the problem of petroleum product scarcity in Nigeria.  When Dangote refinery comes up -along side other modular refineries- the present refineries would be abandoned by the government. Remembering what happened in 2001 to the defunct NITEL, when the telecommunication sector was liberalised, NITEL went into oblivion due to several reasons. I believe these new refineries would render the government refineries useless if not immediately privatised.  

The four refineries have been a serious conduit pipes for various governments to embezzle public funds. Various fictitious maintenance contracts have been awarded over time without anything to show for it. The government views the regular payment of salaries of the non-functional refineries as paying for services not rendered.     


Privatisation is not the problem, privatising to those who have technology, finance and the willingness to grow the enterprise is the key.   Several nations run successful national businesses in petroleum, airline, steel companies among others. Unlike Nigeria without integrity, accountability and discipline, it is difficult for government to do business. So if the refineries are not to be privatised, the government should sit tight to provide a workable alternative.



 Finally, I still believe that privatisation is the way out.


Cc: FOD, naijacutee, puskin, dominique