The four refineries located at three sites in Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt had worked only occasionally for years
Nigerian Government intends to become minority stakeholder in four refineries. (Credit: Frauke Feind from Pixabay)
The Nigerian Government is reportedly in talks with some investors to divest majority stakes in the country’s four refineries.
The four refineries are located at three sites in Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt. Due to chronic underinvestment, the four refineries had worked only occasionally for years.
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) head Mele Kyari was reported by Reuters as saying to Channels TV that the discussions are underway on an operating model for the four refineries with state oil company NNPC or the government as a minority shareholder.
NNPC group managing director Kyari said: “It means there will be more scrutiny of shareholders and also becoming more efficient to operate. That conversation is on the table.”
Production currently halted at four refineries
Currently, the refineries stopped production due to the severe damage of its pipelines feeding crude oil, according to the news agency.
In June this year, the Nigerian Government said it is set to commence the construction of the NNPC’s $2.8bn Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project.
The 614km pipeline project is the phase one of the 1,300km-long Trans-Nigerian Gas Pipeline (TNGP) project. It is planned to be completed within a 24-month schedule.
The TNGP project forms part of broader 4,401km-long Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP), which will export natural gas to customers in Europe.
NNPC said that the project would unlock 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas to the domestic market as well as support the addition of 3,600MW of power to the national grid.