By Patrick Andrew Abuja
Nigeria would save $28bn annually on petroleum products importation into the country when the $17 billion Dangote Refinery is completed and resumes operation. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu, who stated this when he inspected the refi nery, further said the Dangote refi nery would set the pace for the private sector to solve Nigeria’s problem of petroleum products. Th e minister, who expressed delight with the progress of work so far on the refi nery, reiterated that Nigeria would stop import of petroleum products in 2019.
“I am not going to import petroleum products in 2019 and I am going to stick to this position and so must do everything to make sure that the refi nery is ready as scheduled”, he said. Kachukwu said Nigerian refineries have majorly failed because of poor approach to business management and market system but was quick to state that it could if all stakeholders were ready to collaborate and work against distortions in the market.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has lauded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) under the tutelage of the Minister of State for eliminating hitherto frequent long queues at fi lling stations due to inadequate petroleum products. He praised the ministry and the NNPC for the ongoing eff orts at revamping our ailing refineries adding that when the refineries return to full stream they would further boost availability of petroleum products. “Th ere is also infrastructural gap. Unlike most countries in the world, Nigeria as a country has not focus on oil infrastructure.
There is huge infrastructural defi cit in the sector. “When I went to China last year, we took a document that shows us we have about $50 billion infrastructure gap. Th is includes pipeline facility to crude oil production and until government hand off the business. Most of the infrastructures were provided by government,” he said urging the government to do more in that sector.
“One of my strategies is to move dialogue from public sector to private sector support infrastructure and that is exactly what we are trying to do with the refinery, providing private sector funding to fi nance the refi nery”, he said Speaking on his refi nery, he said when completed it would be the world’s largest single line refi nery, petrochemical complex and the world’s second largest Urea Fertiliser plant
