The Minister of Petroleum resources, Ibe Kachikwu on Wednesday clarified that the modular refineries being planned for the Niger Delta were not meant to address fuel scarcity. The Minister who stated this while briefing State House Correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting explained that the idea behind the establishment of the modular refineries was to provide jobs for those currently engaged in illegal refining in some communities in the region.
According to him;
“Modular refineries are not supposed to provide a sufficient solution to your product needs. Modular refineries are on the average between 2,000 and 5,000, maybe 10,000 barrels at most capacity per refinery; your consumption is about 630,000 barrels per day.
That is not the essence of modular. What modular is supposed to do for us is provide work within some of these communities where people are busy doing illegal refining; it’s not meant to address the refining product gap we have in the country.”
He however said the recurring issue of fuel scarcity and importation of petroleum products would be addressed when the four existing refineries are fixed to full capacities and the Dangote refinery in Lagos commences operation. He also expressed hope that the proposed Nigeria/Niger joint refinery would help in addressing the situation.
“We are hoping that those gaps will be covered by a mixture of the three or four refineries that the government owns currently, Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna; and of course, the Dangote refinery of 600 barrels,” he said.
