TheCable

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it will end the importation of refined petroleum products by December 2024.

Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer of the NNPC, made this known when he led a delegation of the company’s senior management team to a meeting with Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives.

He said all the country’s refineries would be operational by December 2024, adding that the company would become a net exporter of the commodities at the end of the same year.

Kyari blamed the petroleum subsidy for nonfunctional refineries in Nigeria over the years, emphasising that the subsidy’s removal was already attracting significant private-sector investment.

“I can confirm to you that by the end of December this year, we will start the Port Harcourt refinery; early in the first quarter of 2024, we will start the Warri refinery and by the end of 2024, Kaduna refinery will come into operation,” he said.

“This is the commitment we are giving today and you can hold us accountable for this. In 2024, many of the initiatives including the rehabilitation of our refineries and also the efforts of small-scale refineries, and the upcoming Dangote refinery, will make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products in 2024.

“We will no longer be talking about fuel importation by the end of 2024. I am very optimistic that this will crystallise.”

Kyari said the NNPC is targeting a profit increase of N2 trillion when the 2022 audited financial statements (AFS) are released, adding that since July this year, the company has started paying dividends to its shareholders.

Meanwhile, he said the company has made robust plans for the supply of petroleum products, especially premium motor spirit (PMS), sufficient to last beyond the “ember months and the new year festivities”.

“By the creation of the national assembly, NNPC Ltd. is saddled with the responsibility of guaranteeing Nigeria’s energy security, which is critical to national security,” he said.

Kyari said plans have been made for the forthcoming end-of-the-year festivities and beyond, so NNPC doesn’t see any shortages in the petroleum products supply for the period.