No more repairs of old refineries

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said that the Nigerian government will no longer Carry out repairs of the country’s aged refineries, and would also not concession or privatize them.
This was even as the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) Committee, Mr. Victor Nwokolo, called on the Federal Government to revoke oil blocks allocated oil and gas companies that fail to pay signature bonuses to the Federal Government and those that obtained their licenses through the back door.
In a statement by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Kachikwu said that rather than concession or privatise the refineries, the government would encourage private sector investment and subsequent joint ownership and management of the facilities for greater efficiency.
Kachikwu, who was addressing members of the House Committee who were on an oversight visit to the Ministry, explained that the Federal Government was working hard to bring in private capital to strengthen the refineries in order to boost the nation’s refining capacity.
He said, “For the purpose of efficient management of the refineries, government money will not be committed to the refineries any more. Prospective private investors will bring in their money, take part in managing the refineries and from there recoup their investment.”
Reeling out some of the achievements of the Ministry, Kachikwu noted that since the deregulation of the downstream of the petroleum sector in June, the masterstroke has ensured the availability of petrol at filling stations across the country at affordable prices.
He added that the roadshows in China and India have secured for the nation Memoranda of Understandings (MOU) worth about $80 billion and that efforts are now on to give effect to the MOUs so that real money can enter into the domestic economy.
He said his next port of call in terms of a roadshow is the Gulf States from which Nigeria hopes to secure investment especially into the refinery sector.
He said he also has eyes on another commercial roadshow in the USA where he hopes to ensure that Nigeria gets back its crude oil market in that country.
Nwokolo stated that the lawmakers were in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to get first hand briefing on its activities, achievements, opportunities and challenges to enable the Committee know what support it can give to it to achieve greater results for the benefit of the national economy.
He commended the minister on the achievements so far recorded in the Ministry under his watch.