NNPC Moves to Cut Fuel Imports, Signs $50m Refinery Overhaul Contract with Italian Firm

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has again announced plans to revamp the nation’s four refineries to help the country save billions of dollars it expends annually on fuel imports. To this end, the corporation has awarded a contract worth about $50 million to Italy’s Maire Tecnimont to carry out checks and equipment inspections of Port Harcourt refinery. The Port Harcourt refinery overhaul would be followed by the Warri and Kaduna refineries, according to Reuters report. Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu hinted recently that the federal government would raise $1.2 billion to upgrade the four refineries as it plans to end reliance on petrol imports this year. Between 2013 and 2017, Nigeria spent $36.371billion on importation of petroleum products, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Also, Kachikwu, in 2017, disclosed that Nigeria allocated an average of $28 billion of her foreign exchange earnings yearly to import about 92 per cent of the petrol consumed locally. Kachikwu, who made the revelation at the 2017 conference of the Modular Refineries Association of Nigeria (MRAN) in Abuja, also put the country’s daily petrol consumption then, at 66 million litres.