MPR engages stakeholders on establishment of local refineries
Omolara Ojekunle
The Ministry of Petroleum Resources on Tuesday engaged stakeholders drawn from the public and private sectors to deliberate on a draft strategy to safeguard the long- term interest of Nigeria in energy sufficiency.The event was held on Tuesday, June 1, 2021 at the Ball Room of the Frazier Suite, Abuja.
The development was contained in a press statement released to the media by Enefaa Bob-Manuel, Deputy Director (Information), Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
In his opening remark at the event, the Permanent Secretary , Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr Bitrus Bako Nabasu, disclosed that part of the government’s priorities is in the area of increasing local refineries of crude oil to meet domestic demand; in addition to transforming Nigeria from a net importer of petroleum products to a net exporter.
According to him, under his leadership, a committee was set-up on November 6, 2020 to deliberate and fashion out how Nigeria could realise its continental energy leadership position. The committee which relied on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Reports of 2019, as it relates to Nigeria and other African countries, submitted an interim report to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, whose approval, the Permanent Secretary said , subjected the report to a wider stakeholders review in order to enrich the strategies.
Mr. Nabasu therefore encouraged participants to subject the draft strategy to intense scrutiny with a view to making Nigeria, not only the petroleum refinery hub in the West African sub region, but the entire African continent.
The Director, Upstream, Engineer Kamoru Busari, in his welcome address, said the event was for participants to brainstorm on the interim report submitted to the Honourable Minister, on how Nigeria can set up a petroleum refining hub in Nigeria. Engineer Busari , later made a presentation on ‘Strategic Initiatives.’
Participants broke into syndicates and deliberated on the following topic: Nigeria‘s Aspirations, Opportunities and Competitive Advantage, Policy and Regulation, Infrastructural Development, Capacity Building and Security.
