We almost died waiting
The Port Harcourt refinery is finally up and running!
Good morning, Big Brains. Very random, but have you noticed any change in how your sugar tastes? I need to know I’m not crazy because the sugar they sell in the stores these days is not sugaring like it used to. Have you noticed this or should I drop this laptop and rush to Yabaleft?
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~ 4 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
The Port Harcourt refinery is finally up and running
Nigerian States are reading NNPCL for filth
The Big Deal
The Port Harcourt refinery is finally up and running
You know how you wait and wait for a promise till you give up any hope of it happening? That’s exactly how Nigerians felt about talk of reviving the Port Harcourt refinery. This is also why the latest update from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) kind of comes as a shock to a lot of people.
On Tuesday, November 26, the spokesperson of the NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, surprised us all by announcing that the Port Harcourt refinery had not only started operations, but had also started truckloading its petroleum products — petrol, diesel, and kerosene — on the same day.
The refinery, located in the Eleme area of Rivers State, is the biggest of the three refineries owned by the Federal Government and managed by the NNPCL. It consists of two complexes—the first one built in 1965 with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, and the newer one built in 1989 with a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day.
This latest news from the NNPCL is coming after several disappointments and failed deadlines since the government of former President, Muhammadu Buhari obtained a $1.5bn loan to renovate and bring the Port Harcourt refinery back to life.
Why is this a big deal?
If you’re Nigerian, you’ll agree that one of the most annoying things we’ve all had to endure is the fact that we export our crude to other people to refine, then import it back from them at our own cost.
This exchange made petrol costlier than it should be, and to make it affordable to Nigerians, the government has had to subsidise the price of petrol for years, badly hurting our economy.
Last year, following his inauguration, President Bola Tinubu stopped fuel subsidies to lessen the burden on the country’s treasury. Since then, Nigerians have not caught a break because the burden fell on them instead, with fuel prices moving from about ₦200 to over ₦1000 and driving up food prices with them.
Now, with the reopening of this refinery, we can expect that fuel prices can obey Tinubu’s command and “let the poor breathe.” Why? The two sections of the Port Harcourt refinery have a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels per day (BPD) and are expected to distribute about 200 trucks full of petroleum products around Nigeria everyday.
When you press your calculator harder, you’ll also find that the Dangote refinery which started its operations in September 2024 has a capacity of 650,000 BPD (and is supposed to cater to local markets and still be able to export to neighboring African countries). When you merge them all together, you’ll be getting 860,000 BPD.
The combined efforts of both refineries is expected to end fuel importation and save Nigeria some cash out of the ₦24 trillion it spends importing petrol annually, simultaneously saving us the stress caused by foreign exchange and potentially make Nigeria a net exporter of oil by 2025.
It also squashes the possibility of a return of fuel subsidies and by this, Nigeria will also save billions of dollars.
Additionally, it will create job opportunities, improve our energy sector and most importantly, help make things easier on local businesses and all Nigerians.
But all of these things can only work if the refinery does not experience village people problems and shut down like it did in 2019.
There are several factors like poor maintenance, corruption, mismanagement, political interference which could potentially lead to the failure of this refinery, but maybe the NNPCL will bring its A game this time because Nigerians really deserve a break.
Nigerian States are reading NNPCL for filth
People might be celebrating the NNPCL for reopening the Port Harcourt refinery, but Nigerian states are not having it with them.
Reports have it that the NNPCL asked the federal government for an extra ₦1.19 trillion refund on the subsidies for July 2024.
The petroleum company says it’s asking for extra money based on exchange rate differentials on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) importation and joint venture taxes which it said increased from ₦4.56 trillion inJune 2024 to ₦5.31 trillion by July 2024. But state governments are saying NNPCL is not being transparent about its spending because according to them, some things were not adding up.
The states’ argument is that the FG owes NNPCL ₦4.12 trillion for the current period and that the added ₦1.19 trillion which NNPCL is carrying over from July is suspicious as it wasn't included in the first report it sent to them. Because of this, they are refusing to acknowledge that the NNPCL is owed the extra money from July unless they resubmit their report, and include everything they may have omitted in the first report before its claim on the ₦1.19 trillion can be acknowledged or considered.
There are a couple of things wrong with this development, but one stands out as the biggest elephant in the room. If the FG is still covering the difference in the cost of petrol importation, why then did it announce the removal of fuel subsidies in May 2023?
If you consider recent reports which put Nigeria’s monthly PMS spending to $600 million in the first quarter of 2024, confusion will arise because the whole point of the fuel subsidy removal (which has shown us all shege by the way) is that FG needs to save all that money and pour it into deprived sectors like education, health, and infrastructure but apparently, it’s still servicing subsidies.
This Week’s Big Question
“If you could change one thing about living in Nigeria, and it had to happen immediately, what would it be?”
Temi’s response - “The only thing I want to change about living in Nigeria is actually living in Nigeria. What am I doing here?”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Ngozi’s, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
Again, Yahaya Bello Presents Self To EFCC: After months of back and forth, the former Kogi governor has honoured the invitation of the EFCC over allegations of misappropriation of funds leveld against him.
Kano Anti-Graft Body Uncovers Warehouse Where FG’s Rice Palliatives Are Rebagged: The Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission has uncovered a secret warehouse where bags of rice meant for the less privileged are rebagged
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