NNPC Ltd., GCEO, Kyari optimistic about economic turnaround as Nigeria becomes net exporter of petroleum products by December

As part of strategic efforts to ensure a turnaround in the nation’s economic situation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC Ltd.) says that by December this year, Nigeria will be a net exporter of petroleum products.

Nigeria will reach two million barrels of crude oil per day in a few months, according to NNPC Ltd., as all the necessary infrastructure is already in place.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., Mr. Mele Kyari, gave the confirmation at an interactive session of the joint committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives held at the National Assembly complex on Monday in Abuja.

The interactive sessions were attended by Mr. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Sen. Atiku Bagudu, the Budget and National Planning counterpart; Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum; Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited; and Dr. Yemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Kyari told the committee chaired by Sen. Sani Musa (APC-Niger East) that, based on emerging indicators in the energy and gas sectors, Nigeria will be a net exporter of petroleum by the end of 2024.

The indicators, according to him, are the Port Harcourt refinery, which will start production early in August, followed by the Warri refinery months later, and the Kaduna refinery, which will come on stream by December 2024.

“Mr. Chairman and members of the Joint Committee, let me just give a confirmation that NNPC Ltd. and the oil and gas industry are very critical in bringing about a turnaround in our current economic situation, and we understand the importance of this. To achieve this, we are taking every practical step.

“We have already seen growth in our oil and gas production because of certain actions that Mr. President personally took and also because we have also declared a war on production activities, and this is yielding the required results.

“The combination of these two has now seen us restoring production in our country, and we believe that, as the Honourable Minister (Petroleum) has said, we will soon hit the target of 2 million barrels of crude oil production per day.

“I’m aware that there are several comments in the public space around refining business and domestic production, including production that will come from the commissioned Dangote refinery.

“Yes, this country, as we have said, will be a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of this year. We are very optimistic that by December, this country will be a net exporter.

“That means a combination of production coming from us, and also from Dangote Refinery and other smaller producing companies that we know are in line to do this, so I can confirm to you, Mr. Chairman, that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products.

“Specific to the NNPC Ltd refinery, we have spoken to a number of your committees, and it is impossible to have the Kaduna refinery come into operation before December; it will get to December both in Warri and Kaduna. But that of Port Harcourt Refinery, it will commence production early in August this year,’’ Kyari said.

Other critical stakeholders in the nation’s economy also took their turns unveiling plans for revitalizing the ailing economy.

In his own submission, the CBN Governor, represented by the Deputy Governor (Economic Policy), Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, said the triple challenges of rising inflation, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, and food inflation will soon take a downward trend as indicators to that effect are already emerging.

Earlier, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, said the 2024 budget was already being implemented and that there is ongoing negotiation with labour leaders on the minimum wage to ensure that there are no further disruptions to the economy.

He appealed to Nigerians to continue to persevere as the government is working round the clock to stabilize the economy.

The committee’s chair, Sen. Musa, said: “Our critical interactive session with you as managers of the economy is about economic growth. It’s about how we can get our policies to work and how we will support Nigerians.

“The National Assembly is very concerned because we are the representatives of the people. And we are obliged to ask about what is happening, and this is the reason for the meeting.

“And as we have heard from you, at least you have given us the preambles of the activities going on and how our economy can get back on track.

“You are all aware of the obstructions our economy has had in the previous years. And it’s not going to be easy to say that overnight, in 365 days, or in one year of the coming administration, things will change. It will be gradual.

“And I believe that Nigerians will persevere. This is the only time we can all come together as Nigerians to give His Excellency, the President, all the needed support in order to get us out of all the troubles.

“The indicators show that the economy is doing well. The only thing is that things are a bit difficult because it’s not easy for an inflation that has gone up to go down like that. It takes time.’’