The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has announced that Nigeria will become a net exporter of petroleum products by December 2024.
Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO), made this statement based on emerging indicators in the energy and gas sector.
Kyari spoke on Monday at the national assembly during a session with economic stakeholders and the senate committee on finance, chaired by lawmaker Sani Musa.
“Yes, this country, as we have said, will be a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of this year.
“We’re 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,” Kyari said.
PH Refinery to commence Production by August
In addition, the GCEO of NNPC said the Port Harcourt refinery will begin operations in early August.
He said the operationalisation of the refinery is one of the emerging indicators in the energy and gas sector that Nigeria would become a net exporter of petroleum products by December.
According to Kyari, the oil and gas industry is crucial for turning around the current economic situation.
“We have already seen growth in our oil and gas production because of certain actions that Mr. President personally took, and also the very mere truth that we have also declared war on production activities, and this is yielding the required results.
“Specific to NNPC refineries, we have spoken to a number of your committees, that it is impossible to have the Kaduna refinery come to operation before December, it will get to December, both Warri and Kaduna; but that of Portharcourt will commence production early August this year,” he said.
What you should know
The national oil company has continuously made promises of the production date of the government-owned refineries but ended up postponing it.
Nigeria, a leading oil producer in Africa, still imports refined products for consumption, making it an import-dependent country when it comes to its energy use.
Moreover, the country has four national refineries that have been moribund for decades, with billions of naira spent on them yearly.
The Port Harcourt refinery in River State appeared to be the first one to begin production, with NNPC insisting that technical work has been completed in the refinery.
On the other hand, the Dangote refinery, a privately owned refinery by Aliko Dangote, is said to begin sales of PMS to marketers by August.
