Kachikwu makes U-turn on proposed sale of refineries

Contrary to expectations, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu on Thursday said that Nigeria’s four refineries in Port Harcourt (2), Warri and Kaduna will not be privatised.

It may be recalled that the House Committee on Privatisation had turned the heat on Kachikwu over the planned sale of the nation’s four refineries to prospective investors.

Kachikwu, who doubles as the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), gave the assurance yesterday at the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), at the official presentation of ISO 9001:2008 certificate to the PHRC by the Bureau Veritas of France, one of the best in the world.

The petroleum minister, who was represented by the Group Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer (GED/COO), Refineries, Mr. Anibor Kragha, declared that crude oil would continually be delivered to the nation’s refineries, to ensure improved local refining.

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Kachikwu while allaying the fears of Nigerians said the government has strategic initiative, objective and a  vision from the  very top to deliver crude to the refineries. “Our new model is about delivering profitability and performance. Buy your crude, run it profitably and make as much money, for everybody to benefit,” Kachikwu stressed.

According tohim, “We have no mandate to privatise (the refineries). We are not privatising. We do not have a mandate from President Muhammadu Buhari to privatise. What we do have is approval to seek funding to take you to the levels that you need to get to. Get investors who can invest here (refineries), that will raise us up to higher levels.”

The minister of petroleum resources also stated that NNPC was truly Nigerian, but world class, with capable workers, who could deliver quality, stressing that emphasis must be placed on performance and profitability, while adding that the best was yet to come at the refineries.

The Managing Director of PHRC, Dr. Bafred Enjugu, in his welcome address, stated that the Buhari’s administration favoured domestic refining of crude oil and that the events of the last two months had shown that local refining was the way to go.

 

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