The Nation Newspaper

Tag: fuel

  • Govt advised on how to end fuel scarcity

    Govt advised on how to end fuel scarcity

    The Chairman, Integrated Oil and Gas Limited, Capt Emmanuel Iheanacho, has advised the Federal Government to allow more modular refineries to operate, alongside the existing ones  to finally end real and imaginary fuel scarcity.

    Speaking against the backdrop of fuel scarcity in some parts of the country, Iheanacho said hitches over fuel supply between Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) would not have arisen were there many indigenous refiners and distributors of fuel.

    In an interview with The Nation, Iheanacho said the nameplate of modular refineries could be expanded to accommodate between 50,000 and 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) depending on their configurations, stressing that 100,000 bpd will produce millions of litres of fuel in the country.

    According to him, this can only be achieved through government’s financial assistance to modular refineries’ operators.

    He urged the government to assist Integrated Oil and Gas with over $100million, in order to meet its target of producing 20,000bpd, through its modular refinery.

    The assistance, Iheanacho said, should be in form of helping the firm and other operators to access facility from banks.

    He urged the government to provide a policy framework that would compel financial institutions to provide funds to investors that intend to build modular refineries.

    Iheanacho said: “Financial support is one major area we need government’s help;  if government realises that there is need to have a lot of the small scale refineries to turn around the economy.

    “We can now start exporting refined products than we are currently importing. Government should make provision for financing because it is key requirement to do 20,000 bpd.”

    He said the decision by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to continue to import fuel, is eating deep into the government’s money, stressing that modular and other refineries will fill that gap, when they operate optimally.

  • Supply fuel to your depots, NNPC told

    Supply fuel to your depots, NNPC told

    The solution to the lingering fuel crisis is for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to stop supplying fuel to Depots and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) National President, Chief Chinedu Okoronkwo, has said.

    He said the scarcity was caused by the decision of the marketers not to sell fuel to motorists, among other users, due to its high costs.

    While many outlets that opened for business in Lagos, Sokoto and other states, are selling fuel above the official price of N145 per litre, others are not. This development has further compounded the sufferings of many Nigerians.

    Okoronkwo said the government could help solve the fuel scarcity and its attendant problems of panic buying by ordering the NNPC to change its channel of distributing the product.

    He urged the government to direct the NNPC to distribute fuel through its depots across the country, as against a situation in which the state-owned corporation is using private depot owners.

    Okoronkwo said: ‘’The issue of supplying fuel to DAPMAN first by the National Oil Company (NOC) has done more harm than good.Through this, marketers who need the product most, are unable to get it for distribution to their outlets across the country. When I said that independent marketers need the product most, I’m talking in relation to numbers of marketers that are members of IPMAN. The number of outlets owned by members are more than the outlets belonging to Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN).

    He added: “If NNPC-owned deports are made to control the supply and distribution of fuel in the country, the issue of short-changing the marketers by giving the product to them, at a price that is not competitive, would not arise. Once marketers are getting a good profit margin, coupled with the fact that there is enough fuel in the country, the better for users and the downstream sub-sector of the petroleum industry.”

    According to him, the claims by the NNPC’s Group Managing Directors, Dr Maikanti Baru, that the Corporation has over one billion litres of fuel in reserve for use during the Christmas and New Year, should not be disregarded.

    Okoronkwo said NNPC is not only a regulator, but also the sole importer of fuel in Nigeria, stressing that the agency cannot lie about its operation.

    It would be recalled that marketers are planning to embark on strike from next Monday. But it appear they have started the strike, as they are not selling fuel.

     

  • NNPC sure of adequate fuel

    NNPC sure of adequate fuel

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday assured that it has made arrangements for adequate supply of petroleum products across the country to aid hitch-free movement of motorists during and beyond the festive season.

    The assurance came on the background of reported threats by the Lagos State Chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to withdraw its services in Lagos and its environs due to alleged discrepancies in ex-depot prices.

    In a statement, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, the Corporation stated that the Ejigbo Satellite Depot was fully stocked and carrying out regular loading services.

    The Corporation further explained that the Ejigbo Satellite Depot had consistently dispensed premium motor spirit (petrol) at the approved price of N133.28 per litre contrary to allegations that it was sold at a higher price.

    According to NNPC, there is enough petroleum products in the country to last till the end of the year and 25 vessels laden with petroleum products are also being expected to berth between now and January 2018 to further boost supplies.

  • Snake rage and aviation fuel snafu

    It is often said that we should be careful what we wish for. But Hardball says, be careful what you invoke. When the Nigerian military in their brief moment of exuberance began to name their ‘routine’ military exercises after animals, no one would have thought of a possibility of a backlash. But superstitious heads have begun to suggest that the rage of snakes in some states of the country may not be unconnected to those terms as ‘Python Dance’ and ‘crocodile smile’.

    In the past couple of months, about 250 deaths have been reported across the snake belt states like Plateau, Gombe and Katsina. Hear it from the managing director of EchiTAb Study Group, the anti-snake venom producing firm: “Moreover, we were not used to this large request. All of a sudden, people go to their farms and meet snakes in large numbers…”

    But as you may know dear reader, Hardball is not given to superstition. As oriental sages long conjectured, something made the cocoyam to begin to squeak. The requisite authorities simply are not prepared for this snake season. It’s the period of the year; after the rains when snakes come out of semi-hibernation and are on the prowl.

    For a perennial problem that has plagued a large swathe of the country for ages, our response has lacked method or rationality. First why are anti-venom drugs still being imported by Nigeria? Second, how could the drug be scarce at the most critical time when it is needed most? If the appropriate quarters were alive to their duties, the treatment centres would be well stocked at this time.

    When a female student died of snake bite poison recently in a higher institution in Katsina State, the school was at its wits end for the control of the pest that it had to deploy snake charmers! A tertiary institution in 2017 world!

    Today, it is bad enough that we cannot produce this essential drug locally; it is worse that we had to run out of stock but what is to be said of the fact that supply of the drug has been hampered for about ten days because of shortage of aviation fuel in Nigeria?

    It is said that planes coming into Nigeria to supply stock have to haul return journey aviation fuel. Again, in 2017; to think that Nigeria is a major oil producing country.

    And what’s to be done? The House of Representative calls on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on the snake bite crisis. Brilliant guffaw!

    And Hardball calls out: MAY DAY, MAY DAY! Anyone out there!

  • PPMC urges marketers to import fuel

    Oil marketers should complement the Federal Government’s efforts at improving supply of petroleum products in the country, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Managing Director, Alhaji Umar Ajiya, has said.

    He said the development would help in easing fuel supply and improve economic activities in the country.

    Speaking at the opening of a mega retail outlet built by Emadeb Energy Services Limited in Lagos, he said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should not be the sole importer of fuel, if the country wants to get over the fuel scarcity and its attendant long queqe.

    He urged members of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association (IPMAN) and Major Oil Marketers Association (MOMAN) to improve importation and supply of fuel across the country.

    He said Emadeb has diversified its operation, by operating fuel depot and building retail outlets, advising other marketers to follow do so.

    The  Group Managing Director, Emadeb Energy Services Limited, Mr Adebowale Olujimi said the firm saw a vacuum in the downstream sub-sector and quickly filled it by building mega stations to supply fuel to motorists and other users.

  • We’ve provided fuel without paying N1.3tr subsidy, says Fed Govt

    We’ve provided fuel without paying N1.3tr subsidy, says Fed Govt

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday hit back at former President Goodluck Jonathan, saying his achievements are neither lies nor propaganda.

    The former President last week alleged that the government had been running on lies and propaganda.

    Buhari also reminded the former president that unlike during his regime, when t between N800 billion and N1.3 trillion was paid out yearly as “petrol subsidy” without making the products available even at regulated prices, his  Administration had not been paying any subsidy, yet the product is available and queues disappeared from filling stations.

    Speaking at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Conference for media handlers of state’s chief executives, the President, represented by Minister of Information and Culture  Lai Mohammed, said: “Those who accused this Administration of ‘propaganda and lies’ in the fuel supply sector, for example, did not tell Nigerians that whereas they paid between 800 billion and 1.3 trillion Naira as ‘subsidy’ yearly in their time, without making the products available even at regulated prices, this Administration is not paying any subsidy, yet all products are currently available at competitive prices and fuel queues are now history.

    “In their time, they paid subsidy of 3.7 billion Naira DAILY in 2011; 2.2 billion Naira DAILY in 2012 and 2013, and 2.5 billion Naira DAILY in 2014, all for products that were never available.”

    Describing disinformation and fake news, as ”evil twins” in the public space, the president said that  they have become potent weapons in the hands of opposition, expressing worry that they will be the biggest obstacle as the 2019 general elections.

    He said, “Let me be straight: This is the most difficult time for anyone to find himself or herself in your position. Why? Because in addition to working with a tight budget, you face the double tragedy of disinformation and fake news, buoyed to a large extent by the advent of Social Media. Never before have these ”evil twins” of disinformation and fake news permeated the public space as they have now and, make no mistakes about it, they have become potent weapons in the hands of naysayers. Sadly, they will be the biggest obstacle facing you from now till the 2019 general elections, whether you believe it or not.

    “In recent days, you have all seen the dangers posed, not just to you but even the general public, by those who have chosen to deploy disinformation and fake news as a weapon of choice. First, they created unnecessary panic in the society by claiming that Monkey Pox resulted from the Federal Government’s deliberate injection of people with the virus in certain states. We had hardly dispelled that when they claimed that the military, which is going beyond the call of duty to support the civilian populace, has been injecting school children with Monkey Pox, forcing many parents across a number of states to withdraw their children from school for days. Imagine the implication of this on the affected children’s education and health.

    “Now, the disinformation is that ahead of the forthcoming election in Anambra, the government has been providing IPOB uniform to some people to cause mayhem, so they can in turn blame IPOB, and that many roads leading to Anambra will be closed before and after the elections, hence they advised Anambra residents to stay at home and not come out for the election. This is all disinformation, pure and simple. There is no such plan.

    “Now, going hand in hand with disinformation and fake news is the new strategy of the naysayers to label the achievements of the government of the day as ‘propaganda and lies’ in order to discredit them. It is for you, at your level, to use concrete facts to showcase the achievements of your principals. Nigerians are brilliant and discerning, and won’t be taken in by such deliberate denigration. But they also need facts and figures.

    “For our Administration, our achievements are there for all to see. We are delivering in the broad areas that formed the plank of our policies: Security, fight against corruption and the economy, which includes the massive provision of infrastructure, ease of doing business and agriculture, just to mention a few.”

    He added: ”Those who accused this government of ‘propaganda and lies’ also said we have not achieved anything in the power sector. Comment is free, facts are sacred, as they say. When this Administration assumed office on 29 May 2015, available power on the grid totalled 2,690MW, transmission capacity was around 5,000MW and distribution capacity was 4,000MW.

    ”As at 4 September 2017, the available power that can be put on the grid was 6,619MW; the transmission capacity was simulated at 6,700 MW (up from 5,000 MW in 2015) but the distribution capacity was 4,600 MW, which was what was put on the grid. On September 12, 2017, production of power reached an all-time level of 7,001MW,” he said

     

     

     

     

    President Buhari said it is an irony that those who presided over a budget of 18 billion Naira for roads, 5 billion Naira for power and 1.8 billion Naira for Housing in 2015 are now accusing those who spent 198.25 billion Naira on roads, 91.2 billion Naira on power and 71.559 billion Naira on housing in the following year of non-achievement?

     

     

     

     

     

     

    ”Because of the increased spending in these areas, the massive debts owed to contractors are being settled so they can recall workers who were laid off and re-open closed work sites. As a matter of fact, during the implementation of the 2016 budget, we paid 103 construction companies executing 192 projects, and they, in turn, employed 17,749 people directly and 52,000 people indirectly in works.

    ”So far this year, 47.169 billion Naira has been paid to 62 contractors working on 149 projects to continue work on roads and bridges and keep people at work. Similar payments are being made to supervising consultants and to contractors in Housing and Power Sectors of the Ministry,” he said.

    The President also said highlighted the achievements that have been recorded by his Administration in the area of the Economy, wondering whether it is ‘propaganda and lies’ that headline Inflation has now fallen for the eighth consecutive month; that foreign exchange reserves are up to $32 billion, from $24 billion a year ago: that oil production is at nearly 2 million barrels per day and that Home-grown School Feeding Programme now being implemented in 17 States is benefiting more than 3 million public primary school children and more than 30,000 cooks across 20,000 schools.

    He said close to 200,000 youths are now benefiting from the N-Power Programme, which recruits unemployed graduates to work as teachers, agricultural extension workers, and health extension workers; that the Government Enterprise & Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which provides micro-credit to farmers, traders, and artisans, now has in excess of 1 million beneficiaries, with women accounting for 56% of that number, and that at about $1.8 billion, the capital inflows in the second quarter of 2017 were almost double the $908 million in the first quarter.

    ”If our achievements are based on ‘propaganda and lies’, as they claim, why is our agricultural revolution achieving so much success: We have commissioned the 120,000 MT per annum WACOT Rice Mill in Argungu, Kebbi State. We have commissioned the 60,000 MT per annum Edo State Fertilizer Company Limited. What about the commissioning of OLAM’s 750,000 MT per annum Integrated Poultry Facility in Kaduna State? Do you know that 15 moribund Fertilizer Blending Plants have now been revived and in operation across Nigeria, under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, creating 50,000 direct jobs and 70,000 indirect jobs?” the President asked.

    He said when the Administration assumed office in 2015, Boko Haram was active in at least 10 states, could stroll into Abuja at a time and target of their own choosing to cause maximum havoc, in addition to holding territories and collecting taxes.

    ”Today, Boko Haram has been so degraded that it lacks the capacity to carry out any organized attack, while also increasingly losing the capacity to even attack soft targets. Importantly, Boko Haram no longer holds any territory. The same vigour is being used to address the herdsmen-farmers’ clash, kidnapping for ransom and other crimes,” the President said.

    He said the biggest challenge facing government information managers is how to project the achievements of their principals against the background of worsening cases of disinformation and fake news, adding that the best way to tackle the problem is to remain focused, refuse to be distracted or intimidated and also to use facts and figures to counter the purveyors of disinformation and fake news.

  • Beyond fossil fuel

    Sir: Recently, Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, stated the Buhari administration’s resolve to institute research into crude oil fingerprinting to solve crude oil theft. Two things struck me in this statement: First, the fixation on fossil fuel in a world of fast-depleting reserves and alternative energy; secondly, the banality of crude oil fingerprinting – available in almost all International Oil Companies in Nigeria and which ought not to engage the state as though it were some uncharted science.

    It is appalling that we are not alarmed at the current world environmental trends and the dwindling fortunes of crude oil in the international market, with major importer countries like China and the United Kingdom openly declaring embargo deadlines. It is appalling that we sit on the fence lazily shrugging shoulders at the hurricane devastations in overseas countries in naïve oblivion of our own vulnerability.

    With the crippling effects of earthquakes, floods and hurricanes, it is clear that imbalances in the seismology of the earth are of crass proportions. We have never asked ourselves these pertinent and unnerving questions: What is the seismic consequence, if any, of the vacuity left by depleting reservoirs? Is fracking, as used in the United States for crude oil extraction, culpable for the devastating hurricanes across cities in that country? Are we immune to environmental upheavals? With first world economies overwhelmed by earth cataclysms, how prepared are we in the event of whole cities being swept overnight leaving debris and monumental displacements?  If crude oil sales are embargoed by leading importer countries as could be the reality in a few decades, how will Nigeria’s economy be sustained?

    While scientists in more staid economies are busy researching into nano-architecture, liquid biopsy, mega scale desalination, electric-powered aircraft, ultra-high-economy thorium-powered engines, we are in the ridiculous realm of oil prospecting in the Lake Chad basin (in spite of falling oil prices and glut elsewhere); and in the realm of pencil production and crude oil fingerprinting. Thorium-powered cars did not require refuelling. Plausible or implausible, feasible or not, these countries are already looking beyond fossil fuel. Not even the drastic cut in oil prices has keyed our leadership into the necessity for diversification of the economy. The nations’ budgets, beyond the hyped drama of inconsistencies, are constantly off the cuff in sectorial allocations. The educational and science and technology budgets are parsimonious reflecting no recognition of the imperative needs of these sectors.

    The most painful aspect in our dystopia is that we have enough human and material resources to be a first world economy.  There are various cerebral Nigerians lost to developed economies, whose talents and ingenuity, if properly synched, would help revolutionize Nigeria and bail us out of the seemingly intractable quagmire.

    The Buhari administration came in nonplussed by an organized ferment of crimes, corruption and insurrections. Two years and counting into his tenure and having sallied above the teething challenges, it is time to roll out a cardinal blueprint to bail Nigeria out of over dependency on crude oil. This is the duty of no less a Ministry than Science and Technology under the imitable Dr. Onu.

    It is time to harness our very best for the betterment of Nigeria and Nigerians. Luckily, beyond petroleum, crude oil has applications in innumerable range of exportable end-products. In medicine, penicillin, a widely used anti-biotic, can be manufactured from chemicals, derived from petroleum products. Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) made from petrochemicals, is an active ingredient in many of the familiar, over-the-counter pain remedies.  It is estimated that over six thousand end products are derivable from petroleum waste by-products. These includes ammonium fertilizers, which utilizes methane from natural gas; vitamin capsules, soaps, petroleum jelly, insecticides, anaesthetics, cortisones, tyres, plastics, detergents, dyes,  linoleum, among many others too numerous for this space.

    It is necessary that Nigeria takes the leading role in instituting well-funded research centres in our country with an eye for the future. Findings from these centres would form the bedrock of the industrialization policy of the government, with a view to making Nigeria an exporter of products other than crude petroleum and not the wholly importer nation we are today. To remain relevant in the quickly shifting tides of world economy, we must be proactive and pre-emptive, which we clearly lack in today’s computation.

     

    • Engr. Clarius Ugwuoha,

    Egbema, Rivers State.

  • ‘Govt working for fuel self-sufficiency, export’

    Nigeria requires a mixture of bigger and modular refineries to achieve self-sufficiency in crude oil processing, to become an exporter of petroleum products in Africa, Deputy Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Olumide Adeleke, has said.

    According to him, the four state-owned refineries – Port Harcourt 1 &2, Warri and Kaduna refineries are operating below installed capacities of 445,000 barrels per day (bpd), adding that it was a setback to the country’s goal of providing fuel for domestic market aside making fuel available for export.

    At an industry’s forum in Lagos, Adeleke said when Dangote Petrochemical and Refinery starts production in 2019, the country would be at an advantage to distribute enough fuel in the country, and  export the product to other countries.

    He said Dangote Refinery and other refineries are bigger platforms needed to refine crude oil, noting that the bigger a platform is, the higher the profit margin that accrues to the owner of the platform.

    The decision by the Federal Government to license operators that wish to invest in modular refineries few years ago, was part of efforts to encourage processing of crude oil in the country, he said.

    He, however, said the DPR, which issued the licences on behalf of the government, was not happy that the many of the operators are yet to begin processing of crude oil.

    Adeleke said: “While the government is making crude oil refining for domestic consumption by encouraging as many firms as possible to go into it, it is worthy of note that many of the firms that were licensed are yet to  show meaningful progress in that regard. To achieve self-sufficiency in the area of crude oil refining locally, private operators need to be up and doing by processing crude oil optimally.”

    According him, finance is a major setback to operators, who want to invest in refineries, adding that many operators are finding it difficult to get a minimum of $2billion required to operate a big refinery.

    This, Adeleke said, informed the decision of the government to arrange some finances for operators.

    On issue of co-location, Adeleke said col-location is good, when firms established for that purpose are situated where refineries are. He said co-location that is going on in Port Harcourt was as a result of the refinery in that region.  In Port Harcourt alone, co-location of about 100,000 barrels of crude oil is ongoing, a development, which is good for the country.

  • NIPCO strategic to fuel distribution, says NPMC chief

    NIPCO strategic to fuel distribution, says NPMC chief

    The Nigerian Independent Petroleum  Company (NIPCO) occupies a strategic position in the fuel distribution chain, Nigerian Petroleum Marketing Company (NPMC) Managing Director Mr. Umar Ajiya, has said.

    NPMC is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petrleum Corporation (NNPC). NIPCO, he said,  had  the capacity to distribute white products, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or cooking gas, and compressed natural gas (CNG) across the country.

    Speaking during a visit to NIPCO Terminal in Apapa, Lagos, Ajiya described it as an homecoming, since he had been part of NIPCO LPG.

    He said  NIPCO and 11Plc (former Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc) have good storage facilities and outlets, which would help in getting products to  consumers fast. The level of the firm’s automation, he added,  puts it in high pedigree in the league of depot operators.

    Ajiya  said: “Massive trucking and hospitality of truck drivers, which is not common in other depots has put NIPCO Plc on a better edge than other companies. The value distribution chain NIPCo plays is a vital role as far as distribution of petroleum products is concerned, which is highly commendable.

    “NIPCO is a world-class facility. We commend the entire management and staff of NIPCO & II Plc for the maintenance of an excellent outfit,”adding that more importantly the company’s management had run the terminal hitch-free since it commenced operations in 2004 and had remained a reliable ally to NPMC in storage of products as well as loading NPMC bulk purchase marketers across the country.

    NIPCO’s Group Managing Director, Mr. Venkataraman Venkatapathy supported by the Managing Director, Mr Sanjay Teotia and Managing Director, II Plc Tunji Oyebanji, praisedAjiya for NPMC ‘s vital role in the  distribution chain.

    He said the enduring relationship between the two organisations had been beneficial to the nation especially the growing clientele that operated filling stations.

    Venkatapathy said with the acquisition of Mobil Oil Nigeria, the Group has over 500 retail outlets in the country with a strong presence in lubes while its Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) business is also coming up.

    Teotia acknowledged the working relationship with NPMC, which was demonstrated again during the  visit.  NNPC, he noted, has been playing a key role in the growth of the company, one of which is the joint venture (JV) with Nigerian Gas Company through Green Gas Limited for the provision of infrastructure to aid use of CNG as auto fuel in the country.

    He assured NPMC of NIPCO’s support in meeting its objectives  as both companies strive to add value to the economy as far as petroleum storage and distribution is concerned.

  • Govt screens bidder under fresh fuel importation

    The Federal Government has started screening local and foreign oil companies which submitted bids to import fuel into the country under  the Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) model, it was learnt.

    The aim is to ensure that the firms are financially and technically fit.

    Under the DSDP, firms  get crude allocation from the government and bring products of equal value to the country   to ensure even distribution   nationwide.

    The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ndu Ughamadu, in a telephone interview with The Nation, said the government had set up a technical committee to look at the financial strength.

    Others, he said, include ascertaining the level of credibility of the bidding firms and their capacity to deliver at an agreed date in the event their bids were approved by the government.

    According to him, the issue of eligibility of the firms is of utmost concern to the government, adding that government is stopping at nothing to ensure that only the companies with strong financial capacity and reasonable level of credibility were approved for the DSDP import model.

    He said the issue of selecting qualified bidders is sensitive and tasking, stressing that the development informed the decision of the government to take its time on the issue.

    Ughamadu said: “The process of picking bidders for fuel importation and other issues that are germane to the economy must be thorough, hence the decision of the government to handle the issue painstakingly.

    “The government has been careful with the issue of picking bidders for fuel importation ever since the time it came out with the idea of importation of fuel through Direct Sales Direct Purchase model. Both local and foreign firms have submitted bids for fuel importation under the DSDP model, in line with the directives of the government on the issue. The process of picking the best bidders is on-going. Presently, the government through NNPC is analysing the bids, while at the same time, looking into the financial capacity and ability of the firms to deliver, should they win the bids. Some firms operate onshore; others operate offshore.”

    Ugbamadu said the government is ready to open its doors to foreign crude refiners that want to invest in Nigeria. He said any attempt made by the foreign crude refining firms to invest in Nigeria is in tandem with the policy of the Federal Government, to grow the economy, by bringing in investors into the country.

    “If in the long run, crude oil refiners from developed economies, which would operate under the Direct Sale and Direct Purchase import model, wish to invest in Nigeria, they are welcomed. The more investors we have in Nigeria’s refining sector, the better for the country,” he said.

    He said the government has been calling for more local and foreign investments, in order to promote growth.