The Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and key players in the oil sector have described as encouraging the Federal Government’s rehabilitation plan for the Port Harcourt Refinery.
It promised to rally other stakeholders to ensure that the nation’s four refineries work at installed capacities.
PENGASSAN, an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), said the monitoring of the rehabilitation will be done with all seriousness.
PENGASSAN President Festus Usifo said: “I am one of the two Labour representatives on the steering committee of refinery rehabilitation. PENGASSAN welcomes the award of contract for Port Harcourt refinery rehabilitation.
“We will press all stakeholders to ensure that this time around, all our four refineries will be functioning in full capacities.
The Chairman, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Tunji Oyebanji, said the government ought to have explored other options to revamp the ailing refineries.
According to him, the privatisation option would have been better because of the past experiences with the refineries.
He said: “If the new management of the NNPC revamps the refineries, it will be fine because it will boost domestic refining capacity, adding that the refinery along with the Dangote Refinery, would take care of domestic fuel consumption and free others for the export market.”
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) one-time deputy governor Dr. Obadiah Mailafia said Nigeria does not need to spend up to $1.5 for the rehabilitation of Port Harcourt Refinery.
He told The Nation on phone that he had been on a personal tour to the Refinery and from his estimation, $500 million should be enough to reactivate the facility.
Mailafia said such fund should have been channeled towards the building of a Greenfield modular refinery instead of spending it on the Port Harcourt Refinery with a very old technology.
He said: “I am very worried about this. How much will it cost to build a new refinery? We (Nigerians) don’t need that much for the rehabilitation of that Refinery.
“I have been to that Eleme Refinery on a private tour. From my own estimation, $500million is more than enough”.
Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) National Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, described the approval as a welcome development, saying it will bring supply of petroleum products from the refinery.
He said the amount earmarked for the rehabilitation is in order since it is a professional company that is undertaking it.
Maigandi said: “It is a very good and welcome development. It will bring back the supply of petroleum products. The Italian company that is given the job is a professional organisation.”
