Nigeria’s Refineries Incurred N50bn Loss In Five Months Of 2020 – SPE
LAGOS MAY 31ST (NEWSRANGERS)-Nigeria’s three refineries located in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri have recorded a combined loss of N50 billion in five months (January to May) 2020.
The disclosure was made by Mr Joseph Nwakuwe, during a webinar seminar titled ‘Repositioning the newsroom to respond to changes in the oil sector in a COVID-19 era’ organized by Accountability Workstream Facility for Oil Sector Transformation (FOSTER 11) yesterday.
Nwakuwe, who is the Chairman of Society for Petroleum Engineers(SPE), said the refineries post an average of N10 billion on a monthly basis, saying the country cannot afford to record losses in that huge number.
‘‘That is the loss figure recorded by the refineries on a monthly basis. Even in this current month of May, that is the loss figure that will be posted.’’
The oil expert warned that should the country fail to sell the refineries now, they may not get value for it anymore. He said the refineries have outlived its usefulness and should be sold as soon as possible to those who can add value to it, adding that the amount of money spent on the endless rehabilitation of the refineries was no longer sustainable.
‘‘I get worried when people go against the sale of the refineries. I get worried because those who maintain such positions are ignorant and not in tune with current realities or the state of the refineries. What is in a national asset that does not return value on investment?’’
He said the country must come up with a fiscal policy that drives development in the midstream and downstream sectors so that they are more energized.
Nwakuwe lamented that the country was not getting value for its crude oil because a larger chunk of the resources was exported in its crude form and later returned as imported petroleum products. This, he said, was not good for the industry and the economy as a whole.
From January to October 2019, refineries under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) made a cumulative loss of N123.25billion.
Independent
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Posted by News Rangers
on May 31 2020. Filed under National.
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