The Federal Government is to forge ahead with its plan of spending $1.5bn on the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery despite criticisms that had trailed the move.

Officials of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation stated on Friday that it had been the intention of government to revamp the unprofitable facility.

The Federal Executive Council had on Wednesday approved the plan by the FMPR to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt Refinery with $1.5bn.

The decision was taken at the weekly meeting of the council presided over by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).



The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who announced this, stated that the rehabilitation would happen in three phases.

But the plan to spend $1.5bn on the facility came under intense criticisms by many Nigerians.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar faulted the $1.5bn approval and argued that budgeting the amount for the renovation of a refinery at a critical period of increased unemployment and inflation “would appear to be an unwise use of scarce funds.”

However, when contacted to know if the ministry would review its stance on the revamp of the refinery, following the widespread criticism that greeted the development, the FMPR said there had been no counter-directive to that effect.

The Deputy Director of Information, FMPR, Enefaa Bob-Manuel, said the petroleum minister had never rescinded his decision to forge ahead with the move.

“Has the minister said otherwise? He has not said otherwise on the information about which you called me to get my reaction,” Bob-Manuel stated.

Also, an official at NNPC, who preferred not to be named, said the plan to fix the refinery had been on for long and it would be improper to back down at this time when funds for its revamp had been approved despite opposition to it.

Why we’re still investing in refineries – NNPC

Meanwhile, the NNPC has said it is still investing in refineries because the country needs to monetise its huge hydrocarbon resource to create wealth and guarantee fuel supply security.

It explained that apart from the fact that Nigeria needs to exploit and refine its crude oil domestically, petrol and diesel-powered engines would still be around for some time, which would invariably sustain the market for petrol.

The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, said these recently at a webinar with the theme ‘Decline and Fall? The crisis of the global fossil fuel industry and outlook for Nigeria’, jointly organised by the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa, Nigeria Natural Resource Charter and the Heinrich Boll Stiftung, Abuja.

Other guest speakers were the Programme Coordinator, Nigeria Natural Resource Charter, Ms Tengi George-Ikoli, and Energy Strategist, Carbon Tracker, Kingsmill Bond.

The NNPC GMD, who was represented at the webinar by the corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Mr Yemi Adetunji, stressed that Nigeria was committed to renewable energy but that it needed to monetise its crude oil deposit and use part of the proceeds to fund its renewable energy projects.

Responding to a question on Nigeria’s commitment to clean energy, despite hosting the soon-to-be-completed largest single-train refinery in the world, Dangote Refinery, the GMD said, “We have to monetise the hydrocarbon resource that we have, even while transitioning to cleaner fuels and renewable energy. We have to use what we have to create wealth to be able to fund some of those projects, and importantly move the Nigerian economy forward.

“Today, our target is 2.1 million barrels of oil per day. If you add the 650,000 bpd that the Dangote Refinery would process to what the NNPC can do, it comes to about one million barrels per day. We believe it is strategically fine for us to be able to refine at least one million barrels of crude oil in Nigeria per day.”

“That would create energy supply security that we are looking for, as well as create jobs and the economic activities that would come from having refineries working in Nigeria, in addition to the petrochemicals that would come from the various activities. We can also earn foreign exchange from exporting the balance that we have left.”

He added, “We have more gas than we have oil and we believe we would leverage that gas resource, which is a much cleaner fuel, to create economic benefits for the country. Nigeria currently has natural gas reserve of 203 trillion cubic feet, comprising of 57 per cent Non-Associated Gas and 43 per cent Associated Gas.

“We need to improve the use of LPG which would help us to reduce deforestation. We are also looking at autogas and Compressed Natural Gas as means of transportation to reduce dependence on petrol and diesel.

George-Ikoli also said the NNPC must seize the energy transition as a business opportunity to save itself and Nigeria from the dangerous dependence on oil, adding that its inefficient refineries were draining money.

https://m.punchng.com/News/FG-set-to-go-ahead-with-$1.5bn-refinery-revamp-despite-criticisms

what is wrong with Nigerians self
if they have not built anything you guys will complain . they are trying to get our rifinary working you are still complaining. is it not the 9ja Delta that is complaining of marginalization especially about the non working refinaries. now that government is planning make them functional again, you guys are still complaining.
chaii

BTW ftc

This one na looting money

The said money obvious must be for embezzlement that is why they are defiant about going about a wild goose chase even the outcry by reasonable Nigerians given that the PH is among the wasteful refineries that have consumed huge TAM and other overhead costs as with the Warri and Kaduna refineries but that all failed to refine any drop of crude oil given the latest NNPC report .

triple996:
What is wrong with Nigerians self? if they have not built anything you guys will complain.They are trying to get our rifinary working you are still complaining.

Is it not the 9ja Delta that is complaining of marginalization especially about the non working refinaries.Now that government is planning make them functional again, you guys are still complaining.
chaii

The motive behind this supposed good initiative @ this time the government is complaining of cash crunch makes it a suspicious move because even with plowing of this huge amount allegedly to revamp the PH refinery, the maintenance and management thereafter is going to be a serious problem.

This is because the NNPC from historical perspective, has been a cesspool of unending corruption by successive governments.Being a government agency like the defunct Nigeria Airways, NITEL etc, it is riddled with corruption that have made it moribund but yet to go into extinction like others because it is a source of revolving corruption hence every govt is interested in it.

Therefore, there have been public outcry that the NNPC-the sole custodian of these moribund refineries(that have been a great sources of economic wastage), should be privatize in a transparency process into private hands & government hands off them totally.The GMD of the PH & Warri refineries are all hausa-fulani muslims hence the defiance to go ahead with this white elephant project.

I hope this one will not end up like the time of the Poverty Development party. They announced turn around maintainance, only to turn around and steal all the money.




I AM DONE TALKING

Good development

Sirjamo:
I hope this one will not end up like the time of the Poverty Development party. They announced turn around maintainance, only to turn around and steal all the money.I AM DONE TALKING

Yes it will because as @ ystdy released report "The government-owned refineries, being run by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, reported a total loss of N778.71bn from 2015 to 2019, an analysis of data collated from their financial statements has shown.The refineries generated total revenue of N21.12bn in the five-year period as they operated at below their full capacities..."
https://m.punchng.com/Business/FG-refineries-earn-N21bn-lose-N778bn-in-five-years

About 21B revenue was generated while a whooping 779B wastage were incurred under five years of your demigod being the minister of petroleum.As I asked your brother cum comarade-Mannabbqgrill that he failed to respond ystdy.

So, now can you give us answers how this putrifying corruption took place under the leadership of your maigaskia president as minister of petroleum within five years yet our moribund refineries are still operating @ a far below full operational capacity Sirjamo? Or you're still done talking with your usual trademark signature?

So Sirjamo you also refused like to give an explanation for this embezzlement/corruption that occurred under Bubu? Therefore may you guys never open your mouths to talk about any Buhari fighting corruption again.Since only his own corruption is palatable to your warped mindset.

Corruption everywhere

Na dem sabi.....wetin we know be say everything in dx country dey go jaga jaga

That's great


Fix the demn refinery ....That's my priority

Wickedness.


Do you have Cut Metal/Iron Scraps for sale?
Please Hit me up, I want to buy as many as 3000 Metric Tonnes. Serious Persons, good sensible prices Please, Thank you
My Signature numbers, WhatsApp Only Please.

Ndi ochi everywhere!
I'm pretty sure that N500M would do that work with plenty money remaining as balance.

Na to steal money be the Original plan

FG want to cash out seriously and nothing can stop them. Anyway Buhari till 2055, at least zombies are gonna be buying fuel for #90/L.

this country is sinking in a daily basis

Free stealing has not become a state policy

Ok

Has anyone ever being able to stop them before?

Because they have to steal from it. By force the same old refinery must be re-revamped even though we know it won't still work..cursed and deaf government

Rebuke:
Has anyone ever being able to stop them before?

I just tire

If 2023 is closely around the corner, I will say they are setting aside some cash for an election.

Let me be watching them with one eye. Billions of dollars have been claimed to have been sunk in that same dead refinery by both PDP and APC but still nothing to show.

PDP killed all the industries and Nigeria and APC came to bury them. It's a pity!

Another Channel To Loot. 9ja We Dey.

Campaign Money ahead of 2023. You Know If You Know

This money go still miss and the refinery nor go run





#fact

I will not even go into the politics of the whole thing as this is certainly towards building a 2023 warchest.

I will not even go into the logic of the whole thing as attempting to raise a thirty year old corpse instead of starting from scratch with investment in modulars is.

But the simple fact if government wants to refine shoulder to shoulder with the private sector as exemplified by Dangote, one will certainly take the other out, pure and simple.

O

Make them gather money for 2023 elections.