President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Chinedu Okonkwo, has appealed to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to build more refineries instead of selling them.
Speaking with the Punch, Okonkwo debunked reports that the association wanted the President to sell off existing refineries as scrap, saying instead of calling for the sales, IPMAN is calling for the revamp of the old refineries so as to increase production output and quality.
Okonkwo affirms, “We in IPMAN will like a situation where the refineries work to its full capacity. That is what we want. The issue of scrapping (of existing refineries) is very inappropriate. I do not think it is the best option for now given the recent statement of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu that anyone who wants to build refineries can leverage on what is currently on ground by building their refineries close to the existing ones.
“There is need for government to open the system to private entrepreneurs who may also come with their idea of how to make the refineries work better. While we are not supporting the idea of scrapping and selling the existing refineries if they are operating as they should, we should encourage the building of new refineries.”
Okonkwo stated that a new refineries with state of the art facilities are needed for the production of oil to be cost-effective and profitable.
“We have new refineries which are equipped with the latest technology. That is why you will see in advanced countries that the emission level is very low – about two to five per cent emission and with high yields. For instance, with these new refineries with latest technology you can get 100 per cent of by-products of what is refined,” Okonwo said.
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