Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Tuesday ruled out the possibility of building refineries as a precondition in the allocation of acreages in the oil and gas sector of the nation’s economy.

Instead, she said the Federal Government would decide the requisite number of refineries the country would need given their viabilities.

Equally, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Austin Oniwon, denied that the daily crude oil production figure of 2.4 million barrels per day as against 4.2 million barrels a day was wrong and under-declared.

He said there were too many agencies overseeing the metering for such under-declaration, who were usually unnoticed.

Alison-Madueke disclosed this while fielding questions from State House Correspondents, during a visit alongside top management of NNPC at the Presidential Villa, Abuja to brief President Goodluck Jonathan on the outcome of the two-day retreat on the challenges facing the sector of the country.

The minister said it was not possible to insist that all acreages would host a refinery but added that what was rational was to determine how many refineries would be commercially viable in the country and approved such while the government was working with the original builders of the existing refineries to return them to at least 90 per cent refining capacity.

“In terms of attaching conditions to giving new licenses for refineries, I don’t think that it’s possible over the entire spectrum of acreage, it is not commercially viable obviously. For every acreage that is allocated to be attached to a refinery is impossible. For instance if you give 25 licences, we cannot be expecting 25 refineries to be built. What we are trying to do is to rationally determine the commercial viability and the quantum of refineries that will be needed in the country over and beyond the traditional national refineries and to attract that green field investment with private equity and the least government equity involved,” she explained.

Alison-Madueke said the two days was used to identify problems militating against the sector as well as proffer concrete solutions which she said were going to produce results shortly especially with the turning around of the existing refineries as well as the short, medium and long term framework for making things work in the country.

One of the worries, she said, was the high incidence of oil spills which she insisted was not permissible and would have to take action on the integrity of pipelines, as the environment was dear to the
country.

“The president wanted a brief summary of the very in-depth retreat and brain storming session that lasted for two days with all the operational and technical executives of our national refineries across the entire range of the refineries.

“We tried to encapsulate in a summary form the various challenges that we saw and the solutions across the board in short medium and long term framework. We looked at the Greenfield refineries and the turnaround maintenance as well as the governance structure, so in a nutshell, we basically gave him an overview of what came out of the retreat,” she said.
She listed some of the challenges encountered as high volume loss of crude oil through vandalisation of pipelines and other infrastructure while some of the equipment were obsolete and out-modelled, especially in the refineries and other supply chain problems, training of personnel and operationalisation of the Greenfield refineries.

She assured that there were moves to integrate solutions proffered at the retreat for agencies of the ministry which share facilities like the Pipelines Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and others for a robust and aggressive way of addressing the problems.

Asked her view on the position of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) that refineries were not viable due to global glut and would not be investing in it in Nigeria, Alison-Madueke said the company which is the operator of the Joint Venture of Nigeria’s oil and gas spoke with global perspective in mind which does not represent the position of Nigeria on the matter as more refineries were needed.

“Shell was talking on the global context because of the global downturn in the economy. Refineries all over the world are operation at a very slight profit margin at this time. That does not suppose that Nigeria will not ensure that its refineries are brought up to at least the 80-90 per cent capacity utilisation range which is the globally accepted range. Because whether we like it or not we must improve and maintain continuous improvement in the ability to refine our own products and supply at least the higher quantum of refined products for the country's use”, she said.

Also answering questions, Oniwon said the security concern of the Japanese company on was being addressed since it was a matter of perception and exaggeration of incidents and assured that the schedule would be completed within time.

“The government is taking appropriate steps, as you are aware the amnesty programme is working. The perception of the Japanese is a global perception but they are not on ground to see the reality. Any incidence that occurs is being exaggerated. You know and you live in Nigeria and you know the level of insecurity is not as hyped as it is being believed in the international community. But we have gone past that one because they are working with their other global partners that are working in Nigeria,” he assured.

On the under declaration of crude production figures, he said: “It is totally impossible to declare half of what you have produced. What is produced is measured and is not only measured by the producer, that is the IOC, you have DPR, NNPC, the special team appointed by the Federal Government, so what is being declared as being produced is real and any barrel that has no source in the international market will come out. If you go to Brass you will see it there. So that insinuation that we are declaring less than what we actually produce is not true. And there is adequate metering system.”


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fg-rules-out-building-of-refineries-as-condition-for-awarding-acreages/110837/

Let d private sector build it.

^ gbam

Who give two f-u.ck about ds guys.i f.ukin hate em

At last the government is beginning to see the light. A government that cannot provide ordinary drinking water for its citizens, should not be in the business of building and operating refineries in the first place. Government run businesses in Nigeria are simply another way of milking public funds, by our rulers.

Let them not worry,they can pay subsidy

Don't trust dz peeps

kulutempa:

At last the government is beginning to see the light. A government that cannot provide ordinary drinking water for its citizens, should not be in the business of building and operating refineries in the first place. Government run businesses in Nigeria are simply another way of milking public funds, by our rulers.

Agreed.
The most sensible thing for any Nigerian govt is to continue taking steps to decentralise the system. It is the only way to get things done as well as reduce corruption.

The next thing I want to see is the disbanding of NNPC. That place is like the customs and police, a den of phucking thieves.

High_Chief:

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, Tuesday ruled out the possibility of building refineries as a precondition in the allocation of acreages in the oil and gas sector of the nation’s economy.

Instead, she said the Federal Government would decide the requisite number of refineries the country would need given their viabilities.

Equally, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Austin Oniwon, denied that the daily crude oil production figure of 2.4 million barrels per day as against 4.2 million barrels a day was wrong and under-declared.

He said there were too many agencies overseeing the metering for such under-declaration, who were usually unnoticed.

Alison-Madueke disclosed this while fielding questions from State House Correspondents, during a visit alongside top management of NNPC at the Presidential Villa, Abuja to brief President Goodluck Jonathan on the outcome of the two-day retreat on the challenges facing the sector of the country.

The minister said it was not possible to insist that all acreages would host a refinery but added that what was rational was to determine how many refineries would be commercially viable in the country and approved such while the government was working with the original builders of the existing refineries to return them to at least 90 per cent refining capacity.

“In terms of attaching conditions to giving new licenses for refineries, I don’t think that it’s possible over the entire spectrum of acreage, it is not commercially viable obviously. For every acreage that is allocated to be attached to a refinery is impossible. For instance if you give 25 licences, we cannot be expecting 25 refineries to be built. What we are trying to do is to rationally determine the commercial viability and the quantum of refineries that will be needed in the country over and beyond the traditional national refineries and to attract that green field investment with private equity and the least government equity involved,” she explained.

Alison-Madueke said the two days was used to identify problems militating against the sector as well as proffer concrete solutions which she said were going to produce results shortly especially with the turning around of the existing refineries as well as the short, medium and long term framework for making things work in the country.
One of the worries, she said, was the high incidence of oil spills which she insisted was not permissible and would have to take action on the integrity of pipelines, as the environment was dear to the
country.

“The president wanted a brief summary of the very in-depth retreat and brain storming session that lasted for two days with all the operational and technical executives of our national refineries across the entire range of the refineries.

“We tried to encapsulate in a summary form the various challenges that we saw and the solutions across the board in short medium and long term framework. We looked at the Greenfield refineries and the turnaround maintenance as well as the governance structure, so in a nutshell, we basically gave him an overview of what came out of the retreat,” she said.
She listed some of the challenges encountered as high volume loss of crude oil through vandalisation of pipelines and other infrastructure while some of the equipment were obsolete and out-modelled, especially in the refineries and other supply chain problems, training of personnel and operationalisation of the Greenfield refineries.

She assured that there were moves to integrate solutions proffered at the retreat for agencies of the ministry which share facilities like the Pipelines Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and others for a robust and aggressive way of addressing the problems.

Asked her view on the position of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) that refineries were not viable due to global glut and would not be investing in it in Nigeria, Alison-Madueke said the company which is the operator of the Joint Venture of Nigeria’s oil and gas spoke with global perspective in mind which does not represent the position of Nigeria on the matter as more refineries were needed.

“Shell was talking on the global context because of the global downturn in the economy. Refineries all over the world are operation at a very slight profit margin at this time. That does not suppose that Nigeria will not ensure that its refineries are brought up to at least the 80-90 per cent capacity utilisation range which is the globally accepted range. Because whether we like it or not we must improve and maintain continuous improvement in the ability to refine our own products and supply at least the higher quantum of refined products for the country's use”, she said.

Also answering questions, Oniwon said the security concern of the Japanese company on was being addressed since it was a matter of perception and exaggeration of incidents and assured that the schedule would be completed within time.

“The government is taking appropriate steps, as you are aware the amnesty programme is working. The perception of the Japanese is a global perception but they are not on ground to see the reality. Any incidence that occurs is being exaggerated. You know and you live in Nigeria and you know the level of insecurity is not as hyped as it is being believed in the international community. But we have gone past that one because they are working with their other global partners that are working in Nigeria,” he assured.

On the under declaration of crude production figures, he said: “It is totally impossible to declare half of what you have produced. What is produced is measured and is not only measured by the producer, that is the IOC, you have DPR, NNPC, the special team appointed by the Federal Government, so what is being declared as being produced is real and any barrel that has no source in the international market will come out. If you go to Brass you will see it there. So that insinuation that we are declaring less than what we actually produce is not true. And there is adequate metering system.”


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fg-rules-out-building-of-refineries-as-condition-for-awarding-acreages/110837/

Is she saying that we cannot attain full production in thse refineries A situation where the goal is below a 100% IMO implies that they are not ready to attain 50% since tshe can come back to remind us that they foresaw their inability to bring the existing refineries to full production capacity.

We have always heardgovernment in Nigeria telling us that their actions would yield results in the short tem but they never do. Is she out to raise our hopes and dash them again in their usual character I do not trust them and I can only conclude that they held a jamboree to spend our money again. I tire for these people sha ooooooo.

Where is prime minister Ngozi O I? The government she is running is at the stage of 'we will, we shall, we are going to', when it is almost a year in a 4yrs tenure half of which is for her and GEJ while the remaining half would be about planning on how to rig the 2015 elections.
When shall we start having ' we have' in your government o.

Oyinbo man says he cant make money from building or running refinery , Government says he cant build refinery. That is to say Nigerians are phocked . Importation continues. Which african millionaire are you waiting for to build refinery - abeg you go wait tire.

fg, pdp and aso rock needs to be destroyed for nigeria to move forward again. as long as you have this present fg, pdp and aso rock in place, nothing will move forward.
when a man whose wife has a pending case of $13m belonging to the people of bayelsa, how can such man be the president and u expect good things.
pdp has legalised corruption and nigerians must form genuine boko harams that will wipe out pdp from our system and only then will u see development in this country.
you can't provide light, water, road, security, refineries but you can provide corruption at low and high places. may God punish all pdp member and supporters.

I know many nigerian politicians, ex military, men that have refineries scartered all over the world these people will never allow any refinery in nigeria to function so that they can continue to import petrol into nigeria and make mega profits.

Yet jonathan wanted us to buy petrol for #160 ?

If they can't build refineries or they should try to woo foreigners in doing for them or else this administration have no plan for the development of the country. If what the original post insinuates is what the minister is on about she has just brainwashed the president yet it is another access to loot the treasury. From the way she is addressing the fixing of the refineries to full capacity just points to loathsome attitude. Why can't the federal government put some of these decayed refineries in private hands or sold them outright? The refineries have been there for too long without producing anything(state of disrepair) now she wants to refurbish them with some billions of money to umpteen capacity and gradually reports back with short term problem of disrepair. This is avenue for her to ruin that sector. There is nothing important coming out of this plan.

The only thing I would have agree to in all of these should  be putting them on the market as shares to foreigners and private individuals(excluding people who have served in government). Foreign shares should be made to exceed that of Nigerians investors for them to be feasible. Why I think foreign hands need to be involved in this is that there has never been a time the government have been able to fix basic necessities and including refineries just define what we are expecting in it, from water to electricity. It is going to be like the power sector which have been attended to by many administration without success. Indeed, government should stay out of operating refineries in Nigeria because they can't just manage them, it has been proven time without numbers. Nigerian government is not organized so, there is no way they can take care of the refineries as the minister is alluding to.

For me, her plan is an avenue to waste the nation's money. There is no need to attach sentiment to this plan here - they can't manager those refineries(even while approaching the former contractors). She has never addressed any problem in that sector from NNPC inefficiency to indiscriminate annual production reports and the government haven't done anything about those.That too proves there is nothing going to happen if they intend to go after the plan and things turn sour along the way.

Another thing is that they need to carry out proper feasibility study of running old refineries to full capacity with modern facilities, to me, it's almost as costly as building new ones.

Even if they want it, from which money the one they already shared

Only PRIVATISED  REFINERIES & POWER STATIONS will work in a country like Nigeria, where SECRET SOCIETIES conspire to scuttle the investigation & trial of their members.

eh. Dem don fraud us again oooo. Why are they just saying this now, what happened to deregulation package? Didnt de see dis coming? Now they are telling us they cant build refineries. Tell jonathan if he dares makes live uneasy for Nigerians more than he already does, I'll have no choice than to join BOKO HARAM and blow live out of them.

yea, i think we have enough, own by the big boys

Nothing new said here. But what is wrong in having 25 refineries over 25 acreage licenses. What is wrong in refining the entire 2.4 million barrels a day. In my opinion the status quo is deliberate to keep us perpetually de-industrialised. If countries having no crude whatsoever refine, ship half way round the world and sell for a profit no matter how small, why will a refinery located literarily above an oil well be loss making. They should come out with hard figures to make this story believable. Right now it smacks of sheer imperialism. They have the jobs, the technology and the cheap crude, while we suffer unemployment, get little value for our raw export and pay through our noses for petrol. This is disgusting. Anyone who continues to support the status quo is not a friend but an enemy of this nation and her people whether foreign or domestic.

When we talk about developing the Niger-Delta and mitigating the environmental impact industrialization via refining and petrochemicals would have been the best option.

Now, even if a refinery or petrochem. plant could not have been demanded by every license issued. It could have been demanded by licensing round and infact made a determinant for acreage sizes and potentials. From the late 70's till today we would have mustered at least a dozen refineries by now and when these wells dry and the plants become redundant what they leave are industrial hubs that remain productive for generations. But when all your investment is centered around a hole in the ground and pipelines to evac. the crude why will you build roads, schools or hospitals. Why will you care what the water tastes like or how much sulphur is in the air. Your workers rotate in and out every fortnight and they all drink bottled water to save their lives. When the wells dry up what you find by way of infrastructure are a helipad for drying cassava and rickety bailey bridges. This is unacceptable. There is no mine location anywhere in the world that has permanent infrastructure and a permanent economy without diversified investment. Go to Jos and see the end of nonsense mineral exploitative policies.

There will have been no need for OMPADEC, NDDC, ND ministry and perhaps derivation if we had added just one value added clause to these exploration contracts. Clause that will keep these companies breathing local air, drinking local water and enjoying local mosquitos. But alas, the man has had enough lung sulphur, runs to Abuja and with his partying shot tells us to our face, remain undeveloped, bye.

i think this is another way of stealing

well I am not suprise, come election time they will be the one making promises, promising heaven and earth

not keeping promise is a very serious sin

you better not make one than not fulfill

yeye govt

awon ole

GEJ has his last chance I hope he will not blow it

which one is more correct:

Read this: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-888733.0.html