The Federal Government (FG) has revealed that Nigeria may stop importing petroleum products by the first quarter of 2024.
Timipre Sylva, the minister of state for petroleum resources, stated this on Monday during the government’s ‘PMB administration scorecard 2015-2023’ series.
The series is intended to highlight the accomplishments of Buhari’s administration since he took office in 2015.
Sylva stated that the 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) Port Harcourt refinery would be partially rehabilitated and ready for production by the first quarter of 2023.
“Our promise has been that the 60,000 bpd plant within the Port Harcourt refinery by the end of Q4 2022, it is being completed and is going to be started by Q1 2023 as promised,” he said.
In addition to several modular refinery projects in the country, the minister stated that the 650,000 (bpd) Dangote refinery is expected to be operational by the end of 2023.
Nigeria would no longer import petroleum products, according to Sylva, with the combined production of the Port Harcourt refinery, the Dangote refinery, and the modular refineries.
He revealed that the federal government had purchased a 20% stake in Dangote refinery on purpose in order to ensure local supply of production from private refineries.
“We have taken 20 percent equity in Dangote Refinery. We have also taken 20 percent equity in Azike refinery. In Walter Smith refinery, we took 30 percent and in Duport, we’ve taken more than 20 percent. Duport refinery has already concluded construction and it only remains to start operations. I’m sure within the next one month, they would start operations,” he said.
“We are hoping Dangote refinery comes on stream this year and once our own rehabilitated refineries start to work, we will be able to get the country wet (with petroleum products).”
Sylva also stated that the government is currently addressing the crude access issues that modular refineries face.
