The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, mandated its Committee on Downstream Petroleum to probe all contracts awarded for the rehabilitation of these refineries between 2010 and 2023.
The lawmakers expressed concerns over what they perceived as a sabotage of the Federal Government’s efforts to revive the nation’s refineries despite an expenditure of ₦11.35 trillion on maintenance.
Furthermore, the Senate plans to interrogate key entities including the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
Additionally, the Senate will invite representatives from NNPCL, NUPRC, and LNG to shed light on Nigeria’s preparations for Green Energy Sources, aligning with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Background
Nigeria has four state-owned refineries, located in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna. These refineries have a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, but they have been operating at a fraction of their capacity for many years.
The Nigerian government has spent billions of dollars on rehabilitating the refineries, but they have not been able to get them running at full capacity. This has led to Nigeria having to import most of its refined petroleum products, which is a drain on the country's finances.