Expert Condemns FG's Reversal of Sale of Refineries to Dangote, Otedola, Others

• The shutdown of the Port Harcourt Refinery for maintenance work has continued to spark criticism from industry experts
• An investment analyst has condemned years of government spending on state-owned refineries without success
• He has urged the full privatisation and sale of the majority shares of the refineries to private investors and Nigerians to improve efficiency

Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology, Banking and the Economy.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) recently announced it would shut down the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), also called Port Harcourt Refinery.

This news has upset many people in the industry, who say the government should fully privatise the refineries to make them work better.

The NNPCL said the refinery would close for scheduled maintenance.

This happened just six months after the refinery began loading petroleum products onto trucks, following a $1.5 billion repair project.

Femi Soneye, the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, confirmed the shutdown and said it was planned to check and maintain the refinery to keep it running well.

FG has wasted funds on refineries, expert claims

An investment expert, Nnaemeka Obiaraeri, said the government is wasting a lot of money on the four state-owned refineries. He pointed out that billions of naira have been spent on them without good results.

Obiaraeri believes that former President Obasanjo’s plan to privatise the refineries was a good choice and should not have been changed.

In an interview on News Central, he said that Nigeria continues to tolerate and even praise the poor performance and lack of efficiency in its public sector.

Obiaraeri said:

“The truth is, and I dare repeat it again. We wasted billions of dollars, trillions of naira, trying to fix these refineries since 1999. Obasanjo did the right thing in 2007 when he privatised the refineries to the team led by Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola and the rest of the corporate czars.”

Obiaraeri stated that the previous NNPC leadership spent N4 trillion on the refineries without achieving results.

He explained that the Port Harcourt refinery was not completely restored but was instead converted into a blending facility.

He firmly believes that the refineries will never operate efficiently while under the control of the public sector through NNPC.

Expert urges FG to sell refineries to Nigerians

Obiaraeri urged the federal government to sell 80% of NNPC’s shares in the refineries to wealthy private investors, who should take 30%, with the remaining shares offered to Nigerian citizens.

He said:

“Sell 50 per cent to Nigerians, list on the floor of the exchange and I tell you this, within the next one year, those refineries would begin to operate at optimum capacity.

“Dangote started its own refinery in 2015 and today, it is the largest single train refinery in the whole world, moving efficiently, no stories, no games.”

He suggested that the Kaduna Refinery should be closed down and converted into a storage depot, as its gas supply system is no longer reliable.

He added that the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries would be very attractive opportunities for investors to purchase.

NNPC sacks Port Harcourt Refinery’s MD

Legit.ng earlier reported that the NNPC Ltd named Maryam Idrisu as managing director of NNPC Trading and Obioma Abangwu as chief liaison officer for Board Matters.

This came after more than 200 employees were reportedly fired, including supporters of Mele Kyari, the previous Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO).

According to a company source, the termination was conditional and only applied to employees who had 17 months or less left before they retired.

Source: Legit.ng