Nigeria totally dependent on imported fuel

LAGOS – Nigeria is importing all of its fuel because its oil refineries are not working, even though US$1 billion has been spent on them in seven years, the head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was reported as saying.

NNPC chief Funsho Kupolokun told lawmakers that all three main refineries in Africa’s top oil producer Nigeria were closed, in Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt, ThisDay newspaper reported on Wednesday. Nigerians have seen long queues at pump stations for two months and the International Monetary Fund says the government has decided to increase prices early this year despite political opposition ahead of elections in April.”Vandalisation is the crux of the matter,” ThisDay quoted Kupolokun as saying on Tuesday to lawmakers who had asked him to explain why Nigeria has been hobbled by fuel shortages since December.The 125 000 barrel-a-day Warri refinery and the 110 000 barrel-a-day Kaduna plant were closed last February after militants, fighting for local control of the Niger Delta’s oil wealth, blew up the main feeder pipeline.The 210 000 barrel-a-day Port Harcourt plant was closed last month due to technical problems, Kupolokun said.”We have spent about US$1 billion to revamp the refineries but when some people decide to bomb crude lines and oil pipelines, there is very little the NNPC can do to help the situation,” he said.”When two of the nation’s refineries are completely out, we have to do a lot of hopping around here and there to ensure that products are available for Nigerians to use,” Kupolokun said, referring to the prolonged outages at Warri and Kaduna.Authorities have also blamed criminals, tapping into pipelines carrying imported gasoline, for the fuel shortages.Nigeria’s refineries have a combined capacity of 445 000 barrels per day, but have rarely operated at above 50 per cent because of constant sabotage of supply pipelines and maintenance delays over the years.The problems are compounded by corrupt officials who benefit from commissions on multi-billion dollar fuel imports.Even at full capacity, Nigerian refineries can supply less than half of Nigeria’s fuel needs of 26 million litres per day, forcing the world’s eighth biggest oil exporter to seek costly imports from Europe.Nampa-ReutersNigerians have seen long queues at pump stations for two months and the International Monetary Fund says the government has decided to increase prices early this year despite political opposition ahead of elections in April.”Vandalisation is the crux of the matter,” ThisDay quoted Kupolokun as saying on Tuesday to lawmakers who had asked him to explain why Nigeria has been hobbled by fuel shortages since December.The 125 000 barrel-a-day Warri refinery and the 110 000 barrel-a-day Kaduna plant were closed last February after militants, fighting for local control of the Niger Delta’s oil wealth, blew up the main feeder pipeline.The 210 000 barrel-a-day Port Harcourt plant was closed last month due to technical problems, Kupolokun said.”We have spent about US$1 billion to revamp the refineries but when some people decide to bomb crude lines and oil pipelines, there is very little the NNPC can do to help the situation,” he said.”When two of the nation’s refineries are completely out, we have to do a lot of hopping around here and there to ensure that products are available for Nigerians to use,” Kupolokun said, referring to the prolonged outages at Warri and Kaduna.Authorities have also blamed criminals, tapping into pipelines carrying imported gasoline, for the fuel shortages.Nigeria’s refineries have a combined capacity of 445 000 barrels per day, but have rarely operated at above 50 per cent because of constant sabotage of supply pipelines and maintenance delays over the years.The problems are compounded by corrupt officials who benefit from commissions on multi-billion dollar fuel imports.Even at full capacity, Nigerian refineries can supply less than half of Nigeria’s fuel needs of 26 million litres per day, forcing the world’s eighth biggest oil exporter to seek costly imports from Europe.Nampa-Reuters