The Federal Government has stated that it is better to privatise/concession a functioning refinery than a non-functioning one, as it attributed the ailing state of the facilities to fuel subsidy.
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timpreye Sylva, during a press briefing on Petroleum Industry Bill on Thursday.
According to the minister, the subsidy is one of the reasons the nation’s refineries are not functioning optimally and such constraint will be taken away with deregulation.
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He said, “Subsidy is one of the reasons why our refineries are not functioning optimally. That constraint will be taken away with deregulation.
“That is why we must now fix our refineries, so that they can function optimally in a deregulated regime. It is better to privatise/concession a functioning refinery than a non-functioning one.”
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Hon. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, @HETimipreSylva will brief the press on the imminent passage of the #PetroleumIndustryBill (PIB), and what it holds for the country. Noon today. #StateHouseBriefing
Watch Live on State House YouTube Page: https://t.co/Pm1kyGvKTb
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 25, 2021
He added that the nation’s refineries are NOT archaic and that the Port Harcourt Refinery, which was built in 1960s and bigger one commissioned in 1989, cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered archaic.