The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has reiterated concerns over the availability of crude oil for the country’s refineries, warning that without increased production, facilities like the Dangote Petrochemical Refinery and others may face supply challenges.
Speaking at the 2024 sector retreat in Abuja, Lokpobiri emphasized the urgency of ramping up production to meet revenue targets and obligations.
He highlighted the potential embarrassment of completing refinery projects without adequate feedstock.
He said, “One of the challenges I am afraid of is, if we finish fixing our refineries, we will be unable to get feed stocks. It will be very embarrassing that we finish Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Warri and Dangote and BUA and we don’t have feed stocks.”
This is the third time Lokpobiri has publicly raised this issue, underscoring the importance of addressing the sector’s challenges.
Despite Nigeria’s vast reserves, investment has been sluggish, leading to a decline in production and revenue.
The minister stressed the petroleum sector’s critical role in addressing the country’s short-term challenges, given its significant contribution to foreign exchange earnings.
He called for a competitive fiscal and regulatory framework to attract investment and combat energy poverty.
Meanwhile, the purchase of crude from the US by the Dangote refinery has raised questions about Nigeria’s inability to meet its production quotas and reliance on costly imports.
Despite being an oil-rich nation, Nigeria continues to struggle with meeting OPEC quotas, facing production declines and significant losses due to theft.
