Nigeria’s domestic oil refining capacity is expected to hit 1.2 million barrels per day by 2020.
The projection was made by the President of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group, Mr Austin Avuru, when the group had an audience with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.
“We actually put 1.2million barrels domestic refining capacity per day and that falls on our doorstep as indigenous operators.
”It will be achieved. Some construction is already ongoing by indigenous companies and between some others who are coming in with smaller sized refineries. We are confident that by 2020 we will deliver 1.2million domestic refining capacity.”
According to VON, he said the group which is made up of indigenous companies is responsible for natural gas and crude oil production at a current capacity of over 200,000 barrels of oil production and over 900 million cups of gas production per day.
“It is a very significant segment of the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry and we thought it was necessary to engage the President, then fortunately the Vice President, Permanent Secretary, Group Managing Director of NNPC were all there. So it was very useful discussion”, he said
Speaking on the motive for the group’s meeting with the President Mr Avuru said “if you watch the way the oil and gas sector is evolving, increasingly the key segments of the oil and gas industry, the onshore segment and the swamp, oil is now falling into the hands of Nigerian Independent Producers and which is why in the past five years we have made so much investment of over $9billion in just acquiring these assets,” Mr Avuru noted
He further said that the group has also made over $1billion each year for work in programme investment and this is growing.
According to him, the group identified with the policy direction of the government and therefore called for the meeting with the President.
“We realise we are very critical partners that he needed to know about and to engage with very early in the administration of the President. So we called for the meeting and he obliged us”
“The President was very receptive and promised that all the help and support we need to succeed as indigenous producers we will get it. Specific requests will go to the GMD (NNPC) when we engage him”, he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari in his reaction assured the indigenous companies operating in the Nigeria’s oil and gas sector of his administration’s full support and protection.
He commended their determination to increase the participation of Nigerians in the country’s oil industry and promised to do all within his powers to address the challenges which they currently face.
He then directed the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to work more closely with the indigenous oil producers to resolve the problems which they enumerated to him.
“We have the manpower for a more effective participation in our oil industry. We will give you all possible encouragement. You certainly won’t be ignored under my leadership,” President Buhari told members of the association.
The President particularly assured the Nigerian oil producers that the present administration will take appropriate actions to maintain and enhance security in their areas of operation, noting that better security will help to lower production costs, which, he said, had become unnecessarily high in the country.
Posted by Janice Johnson
