IPMAN lauds FG over $1.48bn rehabilitation contracts for Warri, Kaduna refineries-Lagos Business News

The National Deputy President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Debo Ahmed, has said the approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) of contracts for the rehabilitation of Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt refineries is a laudable development.
He also stated in an interview with journalists on Friday that with the approval of the contracts, the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari has shown commitment to revamping local processing of petroleum products, and rejuvenation of the nation’s economy.

According to him, the rehabilitation of the refineries will reduce the possible negative impacts of full deregulation of the downstream sector on Nigerians.

He added that it will make refined petroleum products to be cheap and readily available.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, had on Wednesday after the FEC meeting in Abuja said the FEC approved the sum of $1.48 billion for the rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna refineries.

Sylva started the rehabilitation of the refineries will be awarded to Messers Saipem SPA and Saipem Contracting Limited at a total sum of $1.484 billion. He added that they would be rehabilitated in three phases of 21, 23 and 33 months spread over 77 months period.

He explained that $897,678,800 will be spent on the repairs of the Warri refinery while $586,902,256 will be invested in the rehabilitation of the Kaduna refinery.

Ahmed in the interview with journalists said it was sad that Nigeria currently is importing petroleum products, adding that with the fall of naira to the dollar, the Federal Government was spending a lot of foreign exchange on the importation of the refined products while the products should have been cheap if they were processed locally.

According to him, after the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries and the commencement of operations by the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria will become an exporter of refined petroleum products in Africa.

He stated that such a development will increase revenue for the FG, conserve foreign exchange, create jobs for millions of Nigerians in the value chain and improve the well-being and welfare of Nigerians.

He said it was sad that currently, Nigeria is importing petroleum products while the country was exporting refined petroleum products to some African countries in the past when the nation’s three refineries were in operation.

He also said the FG had revamped many depots across the country, adding that the revamping of the depots has improved the distribution of petroleum products in Nigeria.

Ahmed said, “I think it (rehabilitation of the refineries) is a very good development from the Federal Government. Deregulation can only work properly for Nigerians if refineries are working. Deregulation under importation will be determined by the movement of the dollars and the naira is going down now; consequently, the cost of petroleum products will be expensive for an average Nigerian to get through. So if they will be able to repair the refineries and they are working, it is a good development.

“I commend the FG for such gigantic steps taken to revamp these refineries so that they will produce locally for local consumption. I even learnt that we can export some refined products if all these refineries, including the Dangote Refinery, are working. I think Nigeria is going to have it in a very good way where deregulation will not have so many negative effects on the Nigerian public.”