Nigerians have dismissed the claim by the Group Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, that the country will become a net exporter of refined petroleum products by December this year based on emerging indicators in the oil and gas sector.
Kyari stated on Monday at the National Assembly when he met the Senate Committee on Finance led by Senator Sani Musa of Niger East that the Port Harcourt refinery would start production early next month, plus output from Dangote Refinery strengthening the possibility of Nigeria becoming a net exporter of fuel by December.
He said, “We have already seen growth in our oil and gas production because of certain actions that Mr President personally took, and the very mere truth that we have also declared war on production activities, and this is yielding the required results.
“The combination of these two has now seen us restoring production in our country, and we believe that, as the Honorable Minister has said, we will soon hit the target of 2 million barrels of oil production per day.
“We’re very optimistic that by December, this country will be a net exporter. That means a combination of production coming from us, and also from the Dangote refinery and other smaller producing companies that we know are in line to do this. So, I can confirm to you that by the end of the year, this country will be a net exporter of petroleum products.”
But Nigerians received Kyari’s assurance of Nigeria becoming a net fuel exporter with a pinch of salt, especially because of the historical missed deadlines for the local refineries to start production.
In May 2023, Kyari had said the Port Harcourt refinery would be ready before the end of that year, while those in Warri and Kaduna would start production in 2024. None of the refineries is producing anything.
On X, Nigerians have knocked the NNPCL.
@SilasDakoru said: “NNPCL has not even served Nigeria, they are talking of export. Every time BIG BIG talk.”
@enukpeje said: “Never tired of lying.”
@Officialsam247 said: “Hmm, by December they will further extend it, story story always.”
@MagicMopCleanin said: “We’re tired of hearing all of these lies.”
@MIthunokha said: “Meet our local consumption first.”
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