The refineries are not performing optimally because they are unable to access crude oil for refining, Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu, said yesterday.
He said the four refineries are battling with obsolete equipment and are unable to take crude oil for refining into finished products.
Represented by the Executive Director, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mrs Aisha Katagwu at the ninth Oil Trading & Logistics (OTL) Expo in Lagos, Kachikwu said the Corporation is working hard to improve pipelines security, restructure its corporate centres, provide transparent and accountable operations, improve efficiency among its workforce. He added that the state-run oil firm was also taking other measures to stop leakages/wastages in the system.
He said the NNPC unbundled PPMC because it wanted to reduce crude oil exports and achieving other objectives that would aid the growth of the industry.
Kachikwu said the Corporation is exploring how it could improve the growth of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) market, in view of its importance to the economy.
“We are looking at the LPG market to promote growth. As it is, the country is depending on kerosene for consumption. But we are seeing the need to grow the LPG sub-sector of the oil and gas industry because it is cleaner, friendlier and cheaper. Besides, the LPG sector would create jobs for the economy.” he added.
Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Odein Ajumogobia, said there have been discrepancies in the number of litres of petrol consumed in the country per day.
He said there was a time the country was said to be consuming 30 million litres of petrol per day, adding that all of a sudden the figure has risen to 43 million litres per day.
END
Be the first to comment