• Nigerian Senate
Major stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry today vowed to speak up on the dirty deals, regulatory breaches and other malpractices in the sector that had defied solutions over years as the Senate opened another round of probe.
They demanded that the investigation should be conducted on live television broadcasts so that Nigerians would hear and know the truth about the happenings in the industry, reports Nigerian Tribune.
The stakeholders spoke during an interactive session with the Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating “Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry”, particularly the importation of adulterated and substandard products into the country.
The committee, which is chaired by the Majority Leader of the Senate, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti-Central), will begin its full public hearing on September 10.
At a pre-hearing interactive session, it called on Wednesday, major stakeholders sought a transparent investigation to be conducted on live broadcast so that Nigerians would be well aware of the “misinformation” about the operations of the industry.
Among others, the probe will “seek to identify and hold accountable all parties involved in the importation and distribution of the adulterated petroleum products, especially Premium Motor Spirit and Automotive Gas Oil and such other acts that are detrimental to the operations of the petroleum industry.”
Bamidele, in an opening remark, said, “This includes suppliers, importers, regulatory bodies, and any other entity that may have contributed to lapses in the petroleum industry.
“We will conduct a thorough review of current regulatory frameworks and procedures to identify deficiencies and recommend necessary reforms to prevent such occurrences in the future.”
The Minister of State Petroleum (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri; the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL); Mr Mele Kyari; the MD of the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed; the MD of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr Gbenga Kololafe; Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPMAN); Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN); Dangote Refinery; and modular refiners, addressed the panel.
It was a session where many of the stakeholders opposed the Dangote refinery, as speakers warned against the consequences of what they considered to be an emerging monopoly in the industry.
Lokpobiri, for example, promised to cooperate with the panel by supplying all the information to help it unearth the truth.
“We will fully cooperate and supply all the relevant information to address all the misinformation.
“I will suggest that this investigation should be conducted on live television”, he stated.
Lokpobiri, who denied claims that the government was frustrating local investors, added, “We are also committed to supporting the Dangote refinery and modular refineries.”
Kyari, who spoke in the same vein, complained that he had been the target of all forms of attacks, including being called a criminal, and a thief.
He said, “We are faithful, loyal, and committed to the development of this country,” adding that, “We are not criminals and we are not thieves.”
Kyari made a reference to the row between regulatory agencies and the Dangote refinery over the latter’s allegation that its $ 19 billion investment was being frustrated, saying, “We have done nothing to sabotage any domestic refinery. But, there is a law that guides what we do.
“The law says that for crude oil, there must be a willing buyer and a willing seller. Go and check the Petroleum Industry Act, it is there.”
Although Kyari admitted that there could be adulterated products in the country, he insisted that NNPCL was not to blame as the company did not man the borders or control smuggling, which he said was the role of the Nigeria Customs Service and security agencies.
“There are things we know that we won’t say, but we will say them during the public hearing. Let the public hearing be done on live broadcast,” he told the session.
On adulterated products, Kyari said, “NNPCL is not and cannot be responsible for the importation of substandard products. But, we know that smuggling of all sorts takes place, which is not caused by NNPCL.”
According to Kyari, vandalism of oil installations and product theft remain the biggest threats to the industry that need urgent solutions, or else serious investors will not risk their money.
The representatives of DAPMAN, IPMAN and other local operators called for an operating environment that would be fair to all, including existing investors and new entrants like the Dangote refinery, as against handing over the industry to a monopoly.
However, the Group Strategy Officer, Dangote Refinery, Mr Aliyu Suleiman, expressed worries that the company did not get the expected support and backing from the government and regulators.
He raised three issues, “We would like to basically have three questions that we think we should look at, ask the committee, and also ask Nigerians.
“The first question is, do local refineries deserve protection from the government? The second question is, should Nigeria protect its infant industries in order to improve investment? And then the third question is, should local refineries have preferential access to Nigeria?”
Aliyu went on, “Those really are the questions that we want this committee to consider. On the first one, as I have said, we produced five million tons of products, but of those 5 million tonnes, about 90% of them had to be exported. While at the same time, the products we were producing had been imported into Nigeria.
“We find ourselves competing against Russian products that were produced, that have been produced with oil that is valued at $60. We all know that because of the cap that has been put on Russian oil, the value of Russian oil today in the market is $60.
“And that’s what Russia is using to produce their products, and those products are being sent in large quantities into Africa to compete with products that are produced in refineries that buy proof at $90.
“We don’t think this will be a fair competitive environment and I think on that, even on that when you have such unfair competition, it is normal to put protective measures in place.”
He informed the panel that all the company had asked for was for the regulatory environment to support it, considering its huge investment in excess of $19 billion as part of the efforts to solve the domestic product supply challenges.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, confirmed that the government had yet to meet the 2024 budget’s crude oil target, though he gave assurances that everything was being done to achieve it.
Addressing the panel, the minister said while the government set a daily crude production target of 1.87 million barrels for the budget, it had so far achieved 1.6mbpd.
He stated that the government planned to surpass the budget’s target and achieve 2mbpd.
On oil prices, the minister said, “Outlook for oil prices is positive and we expect prices to remain stable.”
