Lawan Hamidu, Abuja
The Nigerian House of Representatives has demanded details of the N66.6 billion budgeted for rehabilitation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC’s refineries in the 2021 budget
The Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources Alh Musa Sarki-Adar and other committee members made the request during a review of the 2020 budget and defence of the 2021 budget of the corporation.
A member of the Committee Mr Nicholas Ossai observed that there is no proper account of what the agency had spent over the year on fixing the refineries.
He further asked why the agency had not allowed its facilities to be over sighted by the House over the year as provided for in Sec 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution.
Other lawmakers also queried why the agency’s helmsman glossed over the commissioning of a modular refinery in Imo State whereas the nation is jolted by this development in the oil sector.
The Group Managing Director GMD of NNPC Mr. Mele Kyari informed the lawmakers that the agency deliberately shut down the facilities of the refineries because it was practically impossible to run them at full installed capacities.
He however assured the committee members that they are working assiduously to fix the refineries starting with the Port Harcourt refinery, then Warri and subsequently Kaduna refineries.
“The N50 billion that was budgeted in the 2020 budget had been significantly reduced due to the coronavirus disease.
For the refineries, the pipelines must have up to 230 to 240 barrels of oil per day for the refineries to operate otherwise its operations run at a loss.” The GMD, added.
Nnenna.O
