Nigeria’s former Vice President and Presidential Candidate of PDP for the 2023 Elections, Atiku Abubakar, has pledged his commitment to make the West African nation a net exporter of petroleum products and the refining hub of West Africa.
Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa with an average daily crude production of about 1.27 million barrels per day.
Nigeria has five oil refineries with a combined installed capacity of more than 445,000 bpd.
Sadly, these refineries are sitting idle, forcing the country to rely heavily on imported fuel.
In 2021, Nigeria spent US$1.04 billion on imported petroleum products.
In a press statement signed by Paul Ibe, Media Advisor to Atiku Abubakar under the heading: ‘How to reduce infrastructure deficit, free funds for social investment’, it said: “We need to stress that the vision of Atiku Abubakar as encapsulated in ‘My Covenant With Nigeria’ is to drive private investment to shift Nigeria from being a “net importer” to a “net exporter” of petroleum products and become the refining hub of the entire West Africa region.
“We cannot hope to achieve this without extensive reforms to restore investor confidence which is currently at its lowest ebb. The active participation of the private sector in the downstream sector will help drive efficiency and healthy competition in the oil and gas sector.”
He expressed regret about the state of infrastructure in Nigeria.
“Regrettably, Nigeria’s core infrastructure sectors are not operating efficiently. Almost all the infrastructure sectors from roads, railways, housing, power and energy are operating below potential. Over the years, we have observed how these enterprises consume huge public resources while offering poor quality services.
“Many of these state-owned enterprises have become a source for political patronage, corruption and rent seeking to the detriment of Nigeria’s long-term economic growth.
“For example, Nigeria’s refining infrastructure remains poor despite the perennial injection of unending public resources for turnaround maintenance. The country’s refining capacity per capita is 0.002 bpd/capita compared to Libya’s 0.06 bpd/capita and South Africa’s 0.01 bpd/capita. As of today, Nigeria imports over 80% of its refined products to meet its current needs and is said to be the largest importer of PMS in the world, with significant balance of trade implications.
“Sadly, the fiscal cost of maintaining these state-owned enterprises is enormous, and it comes with even greater opportunity costs. By holding unto these underperforming enterprises, Nigeria is sacrificing investments in critical areas, including education, health, water, sanitation and rural infrastructure. For example, the first phase in the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s refineries is expected to gulp US$1.55 billion! With its current precarious fiscal position and daunting development challenges, Nigeria cannot afford to forego productivity, enhancing investments in human capital development and channel scarce resources to moribund enterprises,” the statement concluded.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
