NAN – Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, on Tuesday said the federal government plans to end importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) within the next 12 to 18 months.
Addressing reporters in Abuja, Kachikwu said government was working out modalities to ensure that it repays its $5.1 billion indebtedness to its joint ventures (JV) partners within a six-month time frame.
This, he said, would go a long way in restoring confidence to the sector. Kachikwu said the process of fixing the refineries had started and the government was looking at entering into series of partnerships with investors and oil majors. He added that partnership would be on the upgrade of the refineries.
“To fix the four refineries, the country will require about $400 million and the federal government is considering sourcing the amount from investors,” he said.
“The total revamp of the refineries is being hindered by lack of funds and investment, especially as most of the refineries are old and need massive overhaul and refurbishment.”
He said talks were already ongoing with the original builders of the refineries and some oil majors who had shown interest in investing in the upgrade of the refineries.
Kachikwu said when the refineries are finally fixed, they would contribute in building the country’s strategic fuel reserves. He said there were plans to boost Nigeria’s crude oil output from 2.3 million to 2.4 million barrels per day, adding that it would be a significant improvement from between 1.8 million and 2.1 million in the last few weeks.
Kachikwu said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was looking at replacing almost the entirety of its pipelines because most of the pipeline networks are more than 30 years old. He said huge funds would be required to replace the refineries, adding that before they would be fixed, the NNPC would secure the services of host communities to protect the pipelines.
