The Chairman of the Crude Oil Refinery-Owners Association of Nigeria, Momoh Oyarekhua, has called on the Federal Government to end unnecessary petroleum-product imports and maximise the country’s domestic refining capacity.
Oyarekhua made the call while presenting CORAN’s 10-point agenda at the third Nigeria Oil Refining Summit held at the Eko Hotel, Lagos, on Monday.
He said the government should focus its petroleum-sector reforms on improving existing refineries, upgrading infrastructure and developing an export-oriented refining industry that would enable Nigeria to become a major supplier of refined petroleum products in Africa.
He said, “For decades, Nigeria exported crude oil and imported refined products. Today, we in CORAN have changed that story by ensuring that our natural resources create jobs, industrial growth, energy security and prosperity for Nigerians.
“Our crude must increasingly power our refineries. Our refineries must supply our market. And Nigeria must ultimately become a refining hub for Africa. That should be the destination of petroleum-sector reform.”
The CORAN chairman stressed that domestic refineries needed reliable access to crude oil at commercially viable terms to operate efficiently.
Oyarekhua also called for increased investment in pipelines and storage infrastructure, noting that some local refineries still faced difficulties securing adequate crude supplies.
“The country must now support the refinery. Support the pipeline. Support the storage terminals,” he said.
According to him, expanding domestic refining would create employment, conserve foreign exchange and stimulate growth in the petrochemical and manufacturing sectors.
“Refining for value means more than producing fuel. It means retaining foreign exchange, creating jobs, developing local expertise, supporting petrochemicals and manufacturing, and capturing greater economic value within Nigeria,” he said.
As part of its 10-point agenda, CORAN called for the full institutionalisation of the Naira-for-Crude initiative and the adoption of a domestic crude pricing template that takes into account crude quality, delivery points and domestic evacuation costs.
The association also urged the government to phase out petroleum-product imports once local refineries have sufficient capacity to meet domestic demand and produce surplus volumes for export.
It further proposed long-term financing and refinancing arrangements to support refinery expansion and upgrades, alongside the accelerated development of pipelines, storage terminals, depots, jetties and rail evacuation systems.
