A former technical adviser to the Minister of Petroleum Resources and energy expert, Daniel Kunle, has revealed that the four national refineries, even at full capacity, could only produce about 20 million liters of petrol daily.
Kunle made this statement during an interview on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on evening, where he discussed the ongoing controversies surrounding the Dangote refinery and the reemergence of fuel queues across the country.
According to him, this 20 million liters of petrol can only meet about 50% of the country’s daily demand.
He said this implies that Nigeria’s refineries are not capable to make the nation’s energy sufficient even when they all start working.
“The four government refineries combined, the four – the small one in Port Harcourt built in 1965, the bigger one built in 1988, and the Warri refinery built in 1978, Kaduna in 1980 – combined, will not give Nigeria more than maybe 20 million liters per day of petrol. And today, Nigeria is consuming maybe about 40 million,” Kunle said.
Only Dangote Refinery can meet Nation’s Demand
In addition, he said only Dangote refinery has the ability to meet the country’s energy needs, with a production capacity of about 50 million liters of petrol daily.
He said the refinery will put the country’s on a status of economic sovereignty, adding that it’s a project way bigger than Ajaokuta and Nigeria Liquefied Gas company (NLNG).
“Since independence since 190, Dangote refinery is the first mega industrial project that is putting us on the status of economic sovereignty. Our political and economic sovereignty since 1960 has never been as concrete as the completion of Dangote refinery.
“It’s the most significant achievement since 1960. Ajaokuta is a child’s play. NLNG is just a unit of Dangote refinery. This is the only man that is emancipating us economically.
“Dangote refinery alone will do about 50 million liters of petrol per day. That means it’s going to secure this country’s supply,” Kunle added.
What you should know
Nairametrics earlier reported that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) announced that the Port Harcourt refinery is on track to meet its August deadline for producing petroleum products and will be able to supply 10 to 12 million liters of petrol to marketers.
The National Operations Controller of IPMAN, Zarma Mustapha, made this statement in an interview
Despite being an oil-producing nation, Nigeria does not have a working public refinery. The country has four state-owned refineries, which are located in Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri.
The lack of functional refineries has forced Nigeria to rely heavily on imported refined petroleum products, which has had a significant impact on the country’s economy.
Moreover, NNPC boss, Mele Kyari, also assured that the Port Harcourt refinery will commence operations this August. He stated that the other three refineries in Kaduna and Warri would start operations in the second half of 2025.
However, there are doubts about this pronouncement because this is not the first time Kyari has made such a projection.