The federal government of Nigeria has announced that Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, will stop importing petroleum products by mid-2023.
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, stated that output from the Dangote refinery and state-owned refineries would “eliminate any importation of petroleum products into this country”.
The NNPC Boss said “all our refineries even if they work at full capacity can only raise 18 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). That means we would still have a net deficit of PMS to import.
He said NNPC owned 20 percent equity in the Dangote Refinery and has a first right of refusal to supply crude oil to the plant.
“But we saw this energy transition challenge coming. We knew that time will come where you would look for people to buy your crude and you will not find,” he said.
“And that means we have locked down ability to sell crude oil for 33,000 barrels minimum by right for the next 20 years and by right also we have access to 20 percent of the production from that plant.”
Kyari added that the Dangote refinery would begin producing by the middle of next year, adding that it can produce up to 50 million litres of PMS.
“The combination of that and our ability to bring back our refinery will eliminate any importation of petroleum products into this country next year. You would not see any importation into this country next year,” Kyari said.
“This is very practical. As a matter of fact, when we are done with our own refineries and the Dangote refinery, there remain other small initiatives that we are doing, small modular condensate refineries that we are building. If that happens and we are very optimistic it will happen, you would see that this country will now be a net exporter.”
