Kerosene: Nigeria Refineries Meet 60 Percent of Local Consumption, Says NNPC

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Sunday revealed that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries, are presently producing five million liters of kerosene daily

It represented more than 60 per cent of the national daily consumption requirement, said Ndu Ughamadu , Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs division, in a statement.

Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Mr. Maikanti Baru, made the disclosure at a two-day Investigative Public Hearing of the House of Representative Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream).

Represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Downstream, Mr. Henry Ikem Obih, he said that the balance of three million litres of the product was being imported by private petroleum products marketers.

He advised the House of Representatives’ committee to contact the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, which is the petroleum industry regulator, to investigate the source of adulterated kerosene among the private depots in the country.

He further called on the relevant authorities to empower the DPR to carry out its responsibilities more diligently by ensuring that petroleum products imported by marketers meet the required quality and safety standards.

He noted that the corporation would not guarantee the quality of products imported by other market players.

“The quality of kerosene being sold to the general public required regular inspection to ensure that it meets health, safety, environment and quality standards at all times.

“This to avert any regulatory breaches or threat to lives and properties of the general public and consumers of the products,” he said

He maintained that kerosene and other petroleum products supplied by the NNPC were of high quality and meet safety standards.

“The NNPC ensures that the entire refining output in Nigeria through its refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna and any products imported by it to make up for market supply-shortfalls meet the specifications of the Nigerian Institute of Standard (NIS) and Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON).”

He added that the NNPC would not compromise safety and quality in its products and processes, adding that all the depots in the country had laboratories for quality checks to ensure safety of consumers.