Daniel Okpole, Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said yesterday that it has achieved a significant stability in its downstream operation with the resumption of operation by the Port Harcourt Refinery Company and restoration of about 60 per cent of damaged pipeline for products’ distribution.
The Group Managing Director of the corporation, Austen Oniwon, an engineer who broke the good news during a courtesy visit to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in his office said that the nation’s biggest refinery, which was shut down for repairs, had started supplying petroleum products to depot in Aba, Abia State.
However, the GMD did not give the capacity at which the plant was working.
He said that for the first time in a long while, the nation’s three refineries (Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt) were operating simultaneously and contributing effectively towards the nation’s desire to increase local refining capacity.
Besides the return of the Port Harcourt Refinery to production, the NNPC boss also said that the corporation had recovered some of its important product pipelines.
His words: “We are gradually moving towards the full recovery of some of our vital products pipelines which were seriously damaged at the height of youth militancy and pipeline vandalism. Today, we have recovered the Port Harcourt—Aba product line which conveys products from the Port Harcourt Refinery to the Aba depot. And I can tell you that we have started pumping products to Aba and they have indeed received diesel from Port Harcourt Refinery.”
He said that the corporation was working towards the restoration of the Aba-Enugu-Yola product line to extend the supply of petroleum products from the Port Harcourt Refinery to the Enugu and Yola depots.
Moreover, the GMD stated that the corporation had recovered the Warri- Benin line which was out for three years due to incessant vandalism.
“The next phase is to restore the Benin-Ore-Suleja line to ensure that products from Warri get to the desired destination,” he said.
In the North, the GMD announced that products from Kaduna Refinery were conveyed through pipeline directly to Kano while efforts were on to activate the Kaduna-Jos-Maiduguri line.
He noted that the recovery of the pipelines had reduced the cost of haulage as products from these refineries were transported through pipelines as primarily designed.
The NNPC helmsman added that 60 per cent of petroleum products were transported through the pipelines, saying that with the stability in the Niger Delta region occasioned by the post amnesty programme of the Federal Government, the good old days were back in the oil and gas industry.
Oniwon noted that for the downstream sector to grow the economy and attract investors, there was the need for the Federal Government to commence the full implementation of the deregulation policy without further delay.
He argued that except the Federal Government is pragmatic by ensuring the removal of fuel subsidy, the downstream sector will continue to generate imbalance for the economy.
