The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has stated that it will stop importing refined petroleum products by December 2024, stressing that Nigerian refineries will be functioning by that time.
The NNPCL stated on Thursday that it expected the national oil firm’s income to reach N4.5 trillion by the end of 2023, and that the Port Harcourt Refining Company’s rehabilitation would be finished by December of this year.
Mele Kyari, Group Chief Officer of the NNPCL, announced this when he led business officials to a meeting with Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, who urged for the privatization of Nigeria’s refineries.
Also on Thursday, oil marketers confirmed the Port Harcourt refinery’s preparedness, stating that its operations, which might begin in January 2024, will result in a significant decline in the pricing of refined petroleum products.
At the Abuja summit, Kyari stated that Nigeria was on pace to stop importing refined petroleum products in 2024 and become a net exporter of the commodities in the same year.
He also explained the start of operations at the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.
The company’s CEO stated that all refineries will be completely operational by the end of 2024, and that the country would become a net exporter of petroleum products by then.
He criticized the fuel subsidy for dormant refineries in Nigeria throughout the years, emphasizing that the subsidy’s withdrawal was already drawing significant private-sector investment.
Kyari stated, “I can confirm to you that by the end of December this year, we will start the Port Harcourt refinery; early in the first quarter of 2024, we will start the Warri refinery and by the end of 2024, Kaduna refinery will come into operation.
“This is the commitment we are giving today and you can hold us accountable for this. In 2024, many of the initiatives including the rehabilitation of our refineries and also the efforts of small-scale refineries, and the upcoming Dangote refinery, will make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products in 2024.
“We will no longer be talking about fuel importation by the end of 2024. I am very optimistic that this will crystallise,” he said.
Kyari pledged that by the end of 2023, the expected government revenue from the company would hit N4.5tn, as NNPCL now returns value to shareholders in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act.
