The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Malam Mele Kyari, has disclosed that Nigeria will end importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the middle of 2023.
According to the NNPC boss, the country’s refineries and the Dangote Refinery would be up and running also by next year.
He said in the interim, petrol would still be imported to augment the rising population and demand for PMS in the country.
Kyari disclosed this on Tuesday at the State House briefing, Abuja, where he spoke on key updates on the vision of the newly unveiled energy company (NNPC Ltd) and the recent interventions being put in place to handle the challenges of crude oil theft in the country.
He said: “We will get our refineries back and run it as a business. We will restore the Port Harcourt refineries to 90 percent installed capacity. We are borrowing from the AFREXIM bank and we will borrow $1 billion for this purpose.
“Now, even if all our four refineries in three locations are operating at a 90% installed capacity, they will only be able to raise 18 million litres of PMS.
“This means even if all of them are working today, you will still see a net deficit of PMS import into this country because our population has grown, and our demand has grown such that the volume of PMS required in this country is almost exponential, there is exponential growth in our need for PMS.
“Happily, NNPC has 20 percent equity in the $25 billion Dangote Refinery. If the Dangote refinery comes up, it will have the ability to produce 50 million litres of PMS. So the ability to bring up our refineries will completely eliminate any form of PMS importation to this country by mid-next year.
“When we are done with our refineries and the Dangote refinery, you will see that we will become a hub of exporter, just not to the African region but to the rest of the world. By middle of next year, the flow of supply will change.”
Kyari explained that NNPC Ltd is now positioned on its path towards becoming a giant in the global energy space, revealing that the transparency level of the new company has hit new heights, a quality he believes would make the entity attractive.
“We are now NNPC Ltd. We are a commercial company and we will do everything to protect our commercial interests.
“As you are aware, gas is the next transition fuel globally, this is where your money will come from because you will be stranded with your oil in the next 30 years, but you won’t be stranded with your gas in the next 50 years.
“That is why we are putting the necessary resources to make sure that Nigeria will be able to benefit from these resources tomorrow,” Kyari said
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