Harrison EDEH
THE Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) restart the government-owned refineries.
PETROAN regrets that the delays and inactivity is affecting industry players in the petroleum industry value- chain,adding that the domestic refining will improve competitive -for pricing in petroleum downstream sector.
The association made the call in response to President Tinubu’s Independence Day broadcast on Thursday to mark Nigeria’s 66th anniversary.
In a statement jointly signed by its Special Advisor on Media, Chris Odia, and National Public Relations Officer, Joseph Obele, PETROAN said restarting the refineries before the January election period would put national assets back to work for Nigerians.
According to the statement, the National President of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, said prolonged inactivity of the refineries has affected businesses, workers, contractors, transport operators and communities whose livelihoods depend on the petroleum value chain.
“Returning the refineries to productive operation would increase domestic refining capacity, strengthen energy security, create economic opportunities and make better use of Nigeria’s existing national assets,” Mr Gillis-Harry said.
“This is not simply about restarting refineries. It is about putting national assets back to work for Nigerians,” he added.
He said increased domestic refining capacity, alongside privately owned refineries, could create a more competitive downstream market, encourage efficiency, improve product availability and potentially put downward pressure on Petroleum-product prices.
He, however, noted that prices would continue to depend on factors such as crude oil supply costs, exchange rates, taxes and logistics.
The association stressed that refinery revival must be supported by reliable crude supply, efficient operations and effective distribution of petroleum products.
“Nigerians want to see the benefits of our natural resources in their businesses, their jobs, their transportation costs and their everyday lives. A functioning domestic refining sector can be an important part of achieving that,” he said.
The association called for stronger cooperation among the federal government, NNPC Ltd, regulators, refinery operators and marketers and other industry stakeholders.
“PETROAN remains committed to supporting policies that promote energy security, strengthen domestic refining, improve petroleum-product distribution, encourage investment and ensure that Nigeria’s oil and gas resources create greater value for the Nigerian people.”
Notably,Nigeria has four state-run refineries, including two in Port Harcourt, which together form the Port Harcourt Refining Company, with a combined installed capacity of 210,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited has an installed capacity of 110,000 bpd, while the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited has an installed capacity of 125,000 bpd.
All four refineries have a combined installed capacity of 445,000 bpd.
For decades, successive administrations have promised and made moves aimed at reviving the nation’s refineries to reduce dependency on petrol importation, but have failed.
Advocate Times reports that despite the poor state of the refineries, the 2025 Audited Financial Statement of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) revealed it loaned N220.495 to its three refineries for Quick Fix Maintenance project, tax obligations, among others.
According to the report, the Kaduna Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited was loaned N77.588, while Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited got N2.58bn and Warri Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited got N113.327bn.
The spending is coming a year after the NNPCL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Chinese companies, Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xingcheng (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd, for collaboration through a potential Technical Equity Partnership (TEP) in support of the completion and operation of the Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries.
It explained that “in 2025, a loan of N133.5 billion was granted to KRPC to finance invoice payments and tax obligations relating to the Quick Fix Maintenance project at KRPC As at the reporting date, the facility had an undrawn balance of N56billion.
