By Isreal Onwudiwe (Energy Editor)
The plans by the Federal Government to embark on complete rehabilitation of the moribund Portharcourt refinery have been applauded by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
IPMAN said rather than auction the ailing refinery, it is better to rehabilitate it for national use, stating that there is nothing as economically beneficial as having a functional refinery.
IPMAN’S position was expressed by its national president, Chinedu Okoronkwo, who spoke on Wednesday in Lagos. He said: “We believe that rehabilitation of the PH refinery is a welcome development because it has been in a moribund state for some time. So it is better to rehabilitate it than selling it off as scrap even if it is to be sold.
“Having a functional refinery will help Nigeria a lot. By the time we start refining locally, it will reduce the freight cost of petroleum products. It will also boost employment creation because it will create direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians.”
Okoronkwo also expressed worry about the timely completion of the refinery rehabilitation, urging the government to ensure it was ready for use according to the completion deadline.
However, the Italian Company, Tecnimont SPA, handling the rehabilitation project and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had on Tuesday signed an agreement for the rehabilitation of the 210,000BPD refinery at a sum of 1.5 billion dollars.
The refinery rehabilitation is scheduled to be completed between 18 and 44 months under a three-phase arrangement. NNL.
