The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has said the corporation would not be involved in the management of the nation’s refineries after their rehabilitation.
Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, of the corporation, Dr. Kennie Obateru, in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, noted that Kyari revealed this while speaking as a special guest on a TV programme.
He said that after completion of the ongoing rehabilitation exercise, another company would be procured to manage the plants on an Operations and Maintenance (O & M) basis.
He explained: “We are going to get an O&M contract, NNPC won’t run it. We are going to get a firm that will guarantee that this plant would run for some time.
“We want to try a different model of getting this refinery to run. And we are going to apply this process for the running of the other two refineries.”
The NNPC boss further explained that the plan, ultimately was to get private partners to invest in the refineries and get them to run on the NLNG model where the shareholders would be free to decide the fate of the refineries going forward.
This model, which is a totally new approach, would guarantee the desired outcome for the refineries, he maintained.
Kyari also restated that the decision to finally stop the fuel subsidy regime was in the best interest of ordinary Nigerians as it would free up funds for the various tiers of government to develop basic infrastructure in the education, health, transport, and other sectors.
The statement added: “Subsidy is elitist because it is the elites that benefit from it. They are the ones that have SUVs, four, five cars in their garages.
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“The masses should be the ones to benefit. There are many things wrong with the under-recovery because it makes us to supply more than is needed.
“This makes the under-recovery to be bloated because we unwittingly subsidize fuel for the whole of West Africa. That has to stop.”
According to him, the removal of subsidy would also automatically correct the distortions it had created in the market such as products arbitrage and smuggling as well as provide the needed impetus for the NNPC to establish retail outlets in neighbouring countries.
On the agitation in some quarters for a reduction in the price of kerosene, he said the corporation’s focus was rather on how to migrate all those who were still using kerosene for domestic cooking to the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas.
According to him, apart from LPG being a cheaper fuel than kerosene, it is also safer and more environment-friendly.
On the global situation of crude oil price and supply, the GMD said prospects were bright.
“Crude oil price is improving by the day. Last week, it was $15 per barrel. Today, it is $32.79 per barrel.
“We believe the ongoing engagements between global oil producers will bring back demand and once that happens, the market will balance and fully recover by year-end,” he stated.
