Prioritise home refining, CPPE urges FG

The Centre for the Promotion of Non-public Enterprise has referred to as on the Federal Authorities to urgently assist home refining and align petroleum insurance policies to favour regionally refined petroleum merchandise by way of focused fiscal, regulatory, and infrastructural measures.

Director of the Centre for the Promotion of Non-public Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, mentioned the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority should place home refining on the centre of its coverage framework, consistent with the President’s Nigeria-First coverage route and industrialisation agenda.

Yusuf famous that the brand new management of the petroleum regulatory businesses should urgently refocus sector priorities on decreasing import dependence, increasing home capability, and catalysing funding throughout the oil and gasoline worth chain.

He famous that home refining should grow to be the rapid and “non-negotiable” precedence within the downstream sector. “Authorities coverage ought to clearly favour regionally refined petroleum merchandise by way of focused fiscal, regulatory and infrastructural assist for each private and non-private refineries, whereas actively encouraging new investments in refining capability,” he mentioned.

The CPPE’s cost to the federal government to prioritise home refining follows the current appointment of recent chief govt officers for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Fee.

On December 17, President Tinubu nominated Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan because the Chief Govt Officer of NUPRC and Saidu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA, following the resignation of the earlier heads, Farouk Ahmed (NMDPRA) and Gbenga Komolafe (NUPRC), who had served for the reason that businesses’ inception beneath the Petroleum Trade Act in 2021.

The CPPE recommended President Bola Tinubu for what it described as a reset of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory structure, stating that the appointments provided “a strategic alternative to reposition the oil and gasoline regulatory setting” consistent with the administration’s vitality sovereignty and manufacturing progress agenda.

Yusuf criticised what he described as coverage distortions that place imported petroleum merchandise in direct competitors with regionally refined merchandise beneath unequal regulatory and financial circumstances.

“This doesn’t represent honest competitors. Real competitors solely exists when all operators operate inside the identical coverage, tax, and regulatory setting,” Yusuf confused. This isn’t merely to guard buyers, however to safeguard Nigeria’s long-term financial pursuits,” he mentioned.

Yusuf famous {that a} sturdy home refining base was important for constructing a resilient, energy-secure, and sovereign financial system, including that it could additionally drive job creation, preserve overseas change, and improve macroeconomic stability.

“A robust home refining base is key to job creation, overseas change conservation, macroeconomic stability, and the event of export-oriented refining capability,” he added.

He additional argued that home refining was key to backward integration and resource-based industrialisation, stressing that supporting refineries would strengthen petrochemical, fertiliser, and allied industries.

“Supporting refineries strengthens Nigeria’s petrochemical, fertiliser and allied industries, thereby creating broader industrial worth chains that drive inclusive progress,” he mentioned.

On the upstream phase, the CPPE referred to as for pressing measures to ramp up crude oil and gasoline manufacturing by way of insurance policies that entice recent investments throughout onshore and offshore belongings.

Yusuf mentioned this was notably vital as the worldwide vitality transition accelerates, warning that Nigeria should maximise the worth of its hydrocarbon assets whereas the chance nonetheless exists.

“The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Fee ought to prioritise manufacturing progress, funding facilitation and improved safety, with a transparent nationwide goal of elevating crude oil output to a minimal of two million barrels per day by way of shut collaboration with business stakeholders,” he mentioned.

He added that expanded funding in gasoline manufacturing should even be a central focus, whereas compliance with home crude provide obligations to native refineries ought to stay a precedence.

“These strategic imperatives should outline the route of Nigeria’s new petroleum regulatory management if the sector is to drive sustainable progress, industrialisation, and long-term financial resilience successfully,” Yusuf mentioned.