Nigeria to become net fuel exporter by December

Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin

Lagos — The Group Chief Executive Officer, GCEO, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari, has said Nigeria will be a net exporter of refined petroleum products by December this year, following emerging indicators in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

Kyari revealed this on Monday at a meeting with the Senate Committee on Finance at the National Assembly led by Senator Sani Musa, and attended by some economic stakeholders, including the Ministers of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri; and the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso.

Kyari listed some of the emerging indicators to include the Port Harcourt refinery, which he said would start production early next month, followed by the one in Warri months later, and the Kaduna refinery, latest by December this year.

He added that in a few months, the oil production level for the country would hit 2 million barrels per day, as, according to him, all the enablements towards that is already in place.

Kyari said: “Mr. Chairman and members of the joint committee, let me just confirm that NNPC and the oil and gas industry are very critical in bringing about a turnaround in our current economic situation, and we understand the importance of this. We are taking every step that is practical for us to achieve this.

“We have already seen growth in our oil and gas production because of certain actions that Mr. President personally took, and the very mere truth that we have also declared war on production activities, and this is yielding the required results.

“The combination of these two has now seen us restoring production in our country, and we believe that, as the Honorable Minister has said, we will soon hit the target of 2 million barrels of oil production per day.”

He noted that there are several comments in the public space around the refining business and domestic production, including production that will come from the commissioned Dangote refinery.

He stated: “Yes, this country, as we have said, will be a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of this year. We are very optimistic that by December, this country will be a net exporter. That means a combination of production coming from us, and from the Dangote refinery and other smaller producing companies that we know are in line to do this. So, I can confirm to you that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products.”

On the government refineries, he said: “We have spoken to a number of your committees, and it is impossible to have the Kaduna refinery come into operation before December, it will get to December, both Warri and Kaduna; but that of Port Harcourt will commence production early in August this year.”

In alignment with these positive developments, Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, the deputy governor of the CBN (Economic Policy), assured that the challenges of rising inflation, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, and food inflation would soon begin to show a downward trend. Abdullahi cited emerging indicators as evidence of the impending improvement.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, emphasised that the implementation of the 2024 budget is already underway. He also mentioned ongoing negotiations with labour leaders regarding the minimum wage, with the aim of avoiding further disruptions to the economy.

In response to the stakeholders’ presentations, Senator Sani Musa, Chairman of the Committee, urged Nigerians to remain resilient, assuring them that the government is tirelessly working to stabilise the economy.

Senator Musa stated: “As representatives of the people, the National Assembly is deeply concerned about economic growth and how our policies can be effective in supporting Nigerians, we understand the challenges our economy has faced in the past and we acknowledge that it will take time for significant changes to occur.

“However, we believe that with perseverance and united support for President Buhari, we can overcome these challenges and emerge stronger. The indicators show that our economy is on the right track, although it may take time for inflation to decrease. We urge Nigerians to remain patient and optimistic.”

The joint session with the stakeholders provided a platform for open dialogue and highlighted the collective commitment towards restoring the nation’s economy.