The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has announced that Nigeria will not import refined petroleum products from June next year.
The firm said following the anticipated completion of the Dangote Refinery and the ongoing maintenance of the nation’s refineries, fuel importation will stop in June 2023.
NNPC also explained that it has shut down some of its pipelines due to high production costs, fire and vandalism.
According to the firm, one of its pipelines had 295 illegal connections within a 200-meter range, adding that “some pipelines and products were found in churches and mosques.”
Its Managing Director, Mele Kyari, stated these during the weekly ministerial briefing hosted by the Presidential Communication Team in Abuja, yesterday.
He said: “NNPC owns 20 percent equity in the Dangote Refinery. We’re not only owning 20 percent equity, but we also have the first right of refusal to supply crude oil to that plant
“Projection (for the plant’s completion) is the first quarter of next year, but we think that it can come up by the middle of next year. If it does, this refinery alone, because it has a 650,000 per barrel capacity and different technology, can crack crude in a manner that you can have more gasoline than a typical refinery.
“That means that the refinery linoleum Motor Spirit). So, the combination of that and our ability to bring back our refinery will eliminate any potential petroleum importation in this country next year. You will not see any importation next year.
“When we’re done with our refineries and the Dangote Refinery, the modular and condenser refineries that we are building will go a long way.
“You will see that this country will become a net exporter of PMS not just to the West African sub-region but to the rest of the world. This will happen, the flow of supply will change – by the middle of next year.”
