The Nigerian National Petroleum Company -NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer -GCEO, has reported that the country would cease the importation of petroleum products by the middle of 2023. Kyari had revealed this at a press briefing in the state house in Abuja, on Tuesday.
He also reported that the Dangote refinery (scheduled to resume operations next year) would complement the output from state-owned refineries to meet the demands of Nigerians for petroleum products. The importation was of importance because the state-owned refineries could not meet the demands of Nigerians
“Even if all our four refineries in three locations are operating at 90% of the installed capacity, they will only be able to raise 18 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). That means even if all of them are working today, you would still have a net deficit of PMS to import into this country,” he said.
But, the output of the Dangote refinery in combination with the state-owned refineries would eradicate the importation of petroleum products in Nigeria. Since the NNPC owned 20 % equity in the Dangote Refinery and has a first right of refusal to supply crude oil to the plant.
According to Kyari, the Dangote refinery which will commence operations by the middle of 2023, will produce upwards of 50 million liters of PMS.
“The combination of that and our ability to bring back our refinery will eliminate any importation of petroleum products into this country next year. You would not see any importation into this country next year. As a matter of fact, it will be a hub for the export of petroleum products, not just to the West African sub-region. This will happen. The flow of supply will change by the middle of next year, it will change. You will not need the importation of petroleum products into this country by the middle of next year,” the NNPC GCEO concluded.
