Singapore does not have a single crude oil, yet, they have 32 refineries.-Singapore does not have a single crude oil, yet, they have 32 refineries.

"Singapore has about 32 refineries, and they are making money from these refineries today. Singapore does not have a single crude oil, yet, they have 32 refineries.
That is why we are having the problem. Can you imagine that Ghana was refining fuel for us at a stage and they do not have crude oil? I am sure that Ghana has only one refinery and it is older than that of Nigeria. We have a lot of countries where their refineries are older than of Nigeria, and yet, they work, not only that. They are producing at maximum level.

As Nigerians groan under acute fuel scarcity, Nigeria, among Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pays highest for fuel. This revelation comes from Royal Dutch Shell's Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), through its Lagos State Chairman, Reverend Folorunso Oginni.


We have four refineries in this country, and out of the four, none is working up to 100 per cent installed capacity. Kaduna is going through turn around maintenance (TAM), while that of Port Harcourt I is completely down and it is not functioning. Port Harcourt is working epileptically while that of Warri is neither here nor there. If these four refineries are producing at their maximum capacities, they will give us 18.2millions litres per day.

But today, our consumption in the country is 31.6million, though they argue it’s 30.6. Let us do a simple mathematics on this. Minus 18.2 from 30.6 and you can see the gap that is already there. Meaning, there is shortage. Mark my word, I said if they are producing at 100 percent. Today, they are producing below 20 per cent.

You see, we need to have plan, know what is good for this nation. Singapore has about 32 refineries, and they are making money from these refineries today. Singapore does not have a single crude oil, yet, they have 32 refineries.

The question is how are they managing these refineries? We have discovered in this country that even with what we are talking about, government is not really serious about it. The multinational oil companies are taking away our crude oil everyday and are making huge and scandalous profits from it.

How will the four refineries work optimally?

It is just the willingness and political will on the part of the government. Everything is politicised and you cannot miss politics with performance. You are aware how many managing directors that have been turned around in NNPC. It is all political. What we are saying is: put round peg in round hole, because government itself is still having its overbearing in these parastatals.

That is why we are having the problem. Can you imagine that Ghana was refining fuel for us at a stage and they do not have crude oil? I am sure that Ghana has only one refinery and it is older than that of Nigeria. We have a lot of countries where their refineries are older than of Nigeria, and yet, they work, not only that. They are producing at maximum level.

Govt says it must deregulate for the refineries to work. What’s PENGASSAN’s or Labour’s position on this?

We are not opposed to deregulation completely. But we are saying, if you must deregulate, for God’s sake, there are things that must be in place. You do not just deregulate. How can you deregulate when you do not have your own capacity at home to refine what you need? It means that your deregulation is still open to the vagaries of international market.

Today, the dollar is about N180, last year November, I remember the dollar was about N119. So, it means that as dollars now rise, naira follows suite. You will just wake up one day and discover that the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as petrol, is about N200 per litre.

Have we asked ourselves how many workers in this country can afford such? I can tell you that if you do it, I bet you that before you know it, the economy will be heading to total collapse. That is our argument.

You must first of all put the refineries in place for local consumption. According to the government, in 2007,it spent N673billion on subsidy and in 2008, it spent N640billion on subsidy. Then we ask, how much would it have taken to build a new refinery? If you want to go political, because that is the trend in Nigeria. You build six refineries across the six-geopolitical zones.

But we are not doing that. The argument some people put up sometimes is that the crisis in the Niger Delta would not allow the refineries to work. But upon the premise also comes the answer. It still boils down to the willingness of the Federal government. Tell me, even with the restiveness in the Niger Delta region, if Nigeria is to lose the crude oil we produce everyday, the government would have done something. As it is today, we are still getting crude oil out of that place.

The method we are using to get crude oil out of that place, can’t we use the same method to sustain the refineries? The other day, we wanted to go on strike, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and ourselves (PENGASSAN), the government told us they could not allow us to shut down the sector for two days, because they knew the effect it would have on the nation.

So it means, if we still produce crude oil under the so-called restiveness in the Niger Delta region condition. So, if the political will is there, we should also be able to sustain the refineries.

Is it possible to compel these multinationals to build refineries at home?

Well, it depends on what you want. Other countries are doing it. You see, let me give you these figures. All the Oil Producing Countries (OPEC) countries, as at March 2009, Algeria sells petrol for 34 cents, which is N49.30. Iran and Iraq sell at 10 cents which is N4.50, Kuwait is selling at 24 cents which is N34.08. Libya is selling at 20 cents which is N20.30. Qatar sells at 22 cents which is N31.90. Venezuela sells at 0.2 cents which is N2.90, South Africa sells at 16 cents which is N23 and Nigeria is selling at N65, which is as at March 2009, is $44.4. So, who is paying more? All the OPEC countries that I have mentioned, no one comes near half of what Nigeria is selling.

Yet, they are still telling us subsidy, subsidy. Which subsidy? Okonjo Iweala said recently that she supports subsidy, but will advocate for smart subsidy. She said smart subsidy is one that will not end up in people’s pockets. I think that is an admittance that government is failing.

We ask, ‘who are the people that are in-charge of this subsidy?’ You have all these parastatals being controlled by the federal government, the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) are government agencies ran by those appointed by the government. So, how can we be saying that it ends in some people’s pockets. You see, all these arguments are neither here nor there?

Government is reviewing PPPRA because of leakages and corruption. Marketers say government is owing them and so are not importing, a major cause of this scarcity. Should review of the template bring hardship to the people?

Between last year and this year, we had gotten about four different templates. If they do a template today based on what naira is to a dollar, say about N120, and if tomorrow, the naira goes to about N200 to a dollar, would you now change the template? So, it is something that cannot be sustained. The Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, some few days ago, said he had invited the marketers. They are opening credit lines and they are working on templates.

These are the same people that recently told the marketers that they can go to blazes. What we are saying is that you do not have food and somebody has come to give you food, and you are saying he should go away with his food, are you going to die of hunger?

The GMD also claimed that over 40 per cent of consumption are being imported by these marketers. And even that figure is not correct which I know it is not, you still need them. I can tell you that it is the other way round.

That is, over 60 per cent of fuel are being imported by the marketers. Yes, you said you want to deregulate, and these people are asking what is going to be their stake, and you do not have answer.

These people are now folding their hands and are watching how you are going to do it. Now, the problem is grounding the country to a halt. Government should be ready to tell Nigerians the truth. Let them tell us the truth. We are in a state of dilemma as far as the issue of energy is concerned. Even Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

This problem will collapse our economy very soon. You know there is alternative to power, because industry operators power the factories with generators, even the medium scale businesses use generators. You know the generator is being powered by petrol or diesel. With this present predicament that people cannot get to buy petrol or diesel, it means the economy will collapse.

That is why we are saying this issue must be seriously addressed by the government. When it started, they said it was panic buying and later hoarding.

Any time there is scarcity, it is either people are doing panic buying, or they are hoarding. ... NNPC said they have imported about 39 vessels. Like I said before, we consume about 31.6million litres now on daily basis in this country and every vessel they bring in contains about 40million litres. All this noise about 39 vessels will only last for about one and half months. After then, what happens? There is no point telling the nation lies.

You told them lies on the issue of electricity and they are tired of it. And anytime there is militant activity in the Niger Delta, they say it has affected gas supply. Government shifts blame to people. Let them tell Nigerians the truth, make Nigerians appreciate where we are and let us proffer solution together.

What will bring fuel back to the filling stations?

As far as we in the Labour, in the oil sector are concerned, the immediate solution is to bring back these marketers now and let them commence immediate importation. There is an adage which says a child does not ask for what killed his father if he has not gotten hold of a sword. Government should embrace these marketers, in spite of the face-off over debt owed them.

They are still ready to do business. Government is saying they are going to probe the leakages and corruption associated with previous subsidy. We support the probe so that we can know where the money is going. Let the government parley with the marketers and open the credit line and let them be assisted to facilitate smooth business relationship, from there you can now be talking of long term measure.

Will the parley trigger increase in pump price?

To think that this impasse will lead to increase in pump price is not correct. It is because the willingness of the public is not there, rather the loopholes in the subsidy would have been noticed. Let them block the loop holes. What Nigerians want is that they should see fuel to buy. We in the Labour are saying that we will not allow deregulation that does not have human face.


Government must know that we have what we call scale of preference, which one is more important. So, if we are shifting the base, then we are shifting the pole, we don’t know where we are heading to. It means the government is pushing the people to the wall and they are calling for revolution because it cannot continue like that. Every day, our economy is collapsing, it is like you want to snuff lives out of Nigerians. I know they will not fold their arms and continue to look without doing anything.