In what may ordinarily translate to total loss of hope and confidence in the ability of the new leadership at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to deliver its promise in fixing the four moribund refineries in no distant time, the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has said Nigeria will be refining at least 900,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in the next 10 years, when Dangote Refinery and other upcoming modular refineries in Niger Delta will go full stream.
In an interview in Abuja, Kachukwu said the upcoming Dangote Refinery’s capacity of 650,00bpd joins forces with a combined average capacity of upcoming Modular refineries which can hit about 250,000bpd, Nigeria will hit 900,000bpd which will be enough to service the federation.
While keeping silent on the coming back to life of the four national refineries, he noted that “The modular refinery, which was a concept we pushed in order to engender peace in the Niger-Delta region, is currently working successfully. Three modular refineries are nearing production, while seven of the refineries are at the verge of completing their Final Investment Destinations (FDIs) plans. So, if those 10 refineries come on board in the next two to five years, they will be providing 250,000 bpd.”
Business Hilights recalls that the new GMD of NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari, had assured while taking over the administration of the Corporation from the former boss, Dr Maikanti Baru, that under his management, all four refineries will not only be revived, but they will start exportation of refined product from 2023.
Analysts recall that the former GMD, Baru also made similar promise when he came in but failed to achieve it before his retirement in office.
