Maritime Nigeria

Main Menu

  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Maritime Info
  • Photo Gallery
  • Fact
  • Profiles

logo

Header Banner

Maritime Nigeria

  • Home
  • News
    • "We are Alert, Watching, Taking Notes and Keeping Records"-AIG Maritime

      May 6, 2025
      0
    • Nigeria Customs Launches Form M On Indigenous Platform

      May 6, 2025
      0
    • Maritime Police Boss Celebrate Workers

      May 1, 2025
      0
    • Oyetola Celebrates Maritime Workers on 2025 Workers’ Day

      May 1, 2025
      0
    • Custom Intercept Drones, Fake Drugs, Renovate Public School In Lagos

      May 1, 2025
      0
    • NIGERIA ENDORSES AMENDMENTS TO EIGHT ILO CODES

      Apr 29, 2025
      0
    • NLNG Launches VIBES For Entrepreneurial Community Development

      Apr 29, 2025
      0
    • Maritime Police Assures Safety As Dockworkers Protest

      Apr 28, 2025
      0
    • OTC 2025: Tanatita Upscale Security Efforts, Seek Collaboration and Partnerships

      Apr 28, 2025
      0
  • Interviews
    • Nigeria Takes Leadership Of MOWCA

      Nov 18, 2021
      0
    • APM Participates in UK Trade Expo

      Oct 31, 2021
      0
    • Reps Seek Admission at MAN

      Dec 7, 2020
      0
    • NIMASA URGE SHIP OWNERS TO RENEW CABOTAGE LICENSES

      Oct 5, 2020
      0
    • FG Sacks Aboloma As NAIC Gets New EDs

      Aug 28, 2020
      0
    • Britain Celebrate Nigerian In Covid Efforts

      Jul 26, 2020
      0
    • Zuckerberg Backs Trump Against Twitter

      May 28, 2020
      0
    • NAFDAC DG Sheds Light On Chloroquine, Herbals, Masks and Covid19

      May 12, 2020
      0
    • Reps Threaten MDAs

      Feb 24, 2020
      0
  • Maritime Info
    • 2023 POP: Minister Task Cadets On Blue Economy

      Dec 15, 2023
      0
    • Rector, Trainees Excited, Laud FG On Modern Academy

      Jan 26, 2023
      0
    • Buhari Redeploys Minister As NPA, NIMASA, MAN, Others Get New Boards

      Apr 7, 2022
      0
    • World Bank Endorse Nigerian Ports, Partners Navy On Capacity Building

      Mar 19, 2022
      0
    • NIMASA Commend Nigerian Navy, Reassures On Floating Dock

      Feb 9, 2022
      0
    • MAN Unveils Lighthouse For Training of Cadets

      Jan 27, 2022
      0
    • shipping

      Singapore Strait Dangerous To Shipping-ReCAAP

      Jan 24, 2022
      0
    • Lekki Deep Sea Port Will Increase Port Efficiency-Amaechi

      Jan 24, 2022
      0
    • Fair Competition: NSC Partners FCCPC For Effectiveness

      Jan 21, 2022
      0
  • Photo Gallery
    • SERAP Calls for Probe of Entire Privatization Processes 1999-2011

      Dec 4, 2017
      0
    • IMO Election: South Africa, Kenya, Liberia, Morroco and Egypt Make Category C

      Dec 2, 2017
      0
    • Maersk Ship on Fire as Coy Launches Six Container Lifting Tech

      Nov 2, 2016
      0
    • Captured Seafarers Languish In Captivity without Ransom

      Nov 1, 2016
      0
    • Niger Delta: Militants Ask FG to Include Former Agitators in Negotiations

      Nov 1, 2016
      0
    • Self-Audit: NIMASA Set to Review 3% Freight Charge

      Nov 1, 2016
      0
    • Recession: Japanese Shipping Companies to Merge

      Oct 31, 2016
      0
    • NSC Partners ICS on Capacity Building

      Oct 31, 2016
      0
    • AGAIN, APAPA CUSTOMS SURPASS MONTHLY TARGET WITH N33B COLLECTION

      Oct 5, 2016
      0
  • Fact
    • Maritime Police Boss Celebrate Workers

      May 1, 2025
      0
    • “VIN Is A Trade Tool, Not Punitive”-Customs

      Mar 2, 2022
      0
    • Blackmailers, False Publishers and Their Agents: Court Clears Rector

      Feb 18, 2022
      0
    • MAN Unveils Lighthouse For Training of Cadets

      Jan 27, 2022
      0
    • "APM Terminals Is Beyond Moving Boxes Around"-Laursen

      Jan 24, 2022
      0
    • MWUN: Welfare, Safety Our Priority-Adeyanju

      Dec 27, 2021
      0
    • Reversing the Trend: Koko Breaks Record at NPA

      Dec 24, 2021
      0
    • Minister Demands More From MAN At Passing Out Parade

      Dec 20, 2021
      0
    • MARITIME NIGERIA TASK NIMASA ON MARITIME DEVELOPMENT

      Dec 15, 2021
      0
  • Profiles
    • CMA CGM Brings AI Onboard

      Jun 5, 2018
      0
    • Customs Notify 577 Officers of Retirement by Eguono Odjegba

      Jan 12, 2018
      0
    • Over 100 Persons Feared Dead in Mediterranean Ship Wreck

      Nov 3, 2016
      0
    • Ballast Water: Panama Signs Up

      Oct 24, 2016
      0
    • Ist Half Report: Customs generate N385.7bn revenue

      Aug 15, 2016
      0
    • Minister/MD Speeches at the Launch of NPA's CCCIS

      Jul 23, 2016
      0
    • Face off Imminent as Dakuku Warn IOCs to Sit Up or Stay ...

      Jul 22, 2016
      0
    • Hadiza, Welcome to NPA

      Jul 16, 2016
      0
    • Habib Abdullahi Sacked Again from NPA

      Jul 12, 2016
      0
  • “We are Alert, Watching, Taking Notes and Keeping Records”-AIG Maritime

  • Nigeria Customs Launches Form M On Indigenous Platform

  • Maritime Police Boss Celebrate Workers

  • Oyetola Celebrates Maritime Workers on 2025 Workers’ Day

  • Custom Intercept Drones, Fake Drugs, Renovate Public School In Lagos

News
Home›News›Punch Says NNPC’s $1.8 billion TAM bid is fraudulent

Punch Says NNPC’s $1.8 billion TAM bid is fraudulent

By Editor
Dec 4, 2017
1432
0
Share:

The Punch Newspapar in this Editorial condemns plans by the FG to spend $1.8b on Nigeria’s ailing, unproductive refineries:

The latest bid by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to raise $1.8 billion for yet another Turnaround Maintenance of its four refineries is an expensive charade. It represents a fresh chapter in the continued rape of the collective assets using the state-owned oil company and confirms anew the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to deliver on his promise of change. He should stop this wasteful venture and undertake the sensible option of selling the refineries with speed.

The audacity of the Maikanti Baru-led NNPC management is provocative, but perfectly in tandem with the atrocious behaviour of his predecessors. Succeeding managements and governments mount the saddle, each promising change, but only to spend, borrow and splash money on refineries that have not achieved 40 per cent capacity utilisation in over three decades. According to the House of Representatives, which has resolved to probe the murky refineries issue, not less than $20 billion has been wasted on TAM and other repairs of the four refineries with little to show for it. A report jointly prepared by the African Refiners Association and the World Bank found that capacity utilisation in the four refineries over the years averaged a mere 18 per cent of their installed processing capacity of 445,000 barrels of crude per day. Egypt’s nine refineries (774,000 bpd capacity) averaged 81 per cent; Algeria’s five (303,700 bpd) 94 per cent; Libya’s five (380,000 bpd) 87 per cent and South Africa’s four (545,000 bpd) 85 per cent.

Buhari, again, like his predecessors, is the main problem: He is a statist and has broken his campaign promises to clean up the NNPC and restructure it into two entities. Most former NNPC GMDs have urged government to hand over the refineries to the private sector to manage. At a symposium in January 2015, the ex-NNPC chiefs confessed that they only took directives from the government.

The refineries are jointly, a basket case; shameful monuments to waste, inefficiency and fraud. Ibrahim Isiaka, a member of the House of Representatives, who raised the motion for a probe, recalled how capacity utilisation recently dipped to 11 per cent on the average. Indeed, Warri and Kaduna frequently witnessed zero per cent utilisation. But not long ago, the NNPC variously spent $308 million, $457 million, $200 million and N264 billion on maintenance. The company put average utilisation at 24.59 per cent in April and 23.9 per cent in May this year.

Buhari, Ibe Kachikwu and Baru are unfair to Nigerians. The only rational thing to do is to sell each refinery “as is.” We disagree with Baru’s sophistry that TAM would make the refineries attractive to investors. This disingenuous, self-serving excuse has been used repeatedly to retain them, while condemning Nigeria to the ignominy of the world’s eighth largest crude exporter (2016), wasting scarce foreign reserves importing refined petroleum products. His promise that “…by the time we are done by 2019, these refineries will be as good as new” is unbelievable and unrealistic. The consensus of expert opinion is that the dilapidated facilities need much more than the $1.8 billion cited. Similar promises by the NNPC had proved false in the past. Never since 1999 have promised production targets been met. Meanwhile, the NNPC spends $16 million to $20 million per day importing refined products, Africa Business Insight reported in August 2016. The National Bureau of Statistics said N2.56 trillion was spent on this wasteful practice in 2016.

Rather than this profligate, futile venture, more investors like Aliko Dangote, who is building a $12 billion 500,000 bpd refinery and power plant in Lekki, Lagos, should be encouraged. Experts say about $1.5 billion will build a 100,000 bpd refinery instead of pouring money into ageing equipment that have not been properly maintained over the years. It is not the business of Baru to beautify refineries for investors: auction them off as they are and let those who are interested come; if no one is, all the better to mothball them and pave the way for newer, modern refineries. He and Kachikwu are fully aware that NNPC’s presence in the downstream scares off foreign investors and stifles competition.

The government should introduce and enforce legislation compelling oil majors producing above a certain threshold to take on at least 20 per cent equity in a local existing refinery or a start-up: national patrimony is the ability to dictate the rules; levy taxes and enforce your writ, not the misguided notion of oil sector unions who misrepresent it for continued, ruinous state ownership of business enterprises. Though not a major crude producer, Singapore’s ingenious leaders have turned the city-state into a major refining hub, processing 1.5 million barrels of crude per day.

Who will stop the Buhari government from this predatory, wasteful venture?

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)

Related

Previous Article

Innoson to Produce High Tech Cars In ...

Next Article

Imo state of statues Attract Osinbajo, Boss

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • News

    FG Removes Koko, Appoints Dantsoho MD NPA

    Jul 13, 2024
    By Editor
  • FeaturedNews

    Future of Shipping: What Kitack Lim Said

    Apr 23, 2021
    By Editor
  • FeaturedNews

    Sound Economic Decisions Needed

    Sep 19, 2019
    By Editor
  • Maritime InfoNews

    IMO Approve New Routes

    May 29, 2018
    By Editor
  • News

    2019: Ekweremadu Renews Call for Single Term Tenure

    Aug 23, 2018
    By Editor
  • News

    Intervention: NIMASA Gives Support to Taraba Schools, Health Centres

    Jul 14, 2022
    By Editor

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • News

    Iridium Gets IMO Nod to Boost GMDSS Services

  • FeaturedMaritime InfoNews

    NIMASA Review Rates To Mitigate Covid Loses

  • FeaturedMaritime InfoNews

    IMO, ICAO, ILO AND WHO COLLAB ON CREW CHANGE

Looking For Something?

Read From

  • Agriculture
  • Customs Operations
  • Fact
  • Featured
  • Interviews
  • Maritime Info
  • News
  • One Question
  • Photo Gallery
  • Profiles
  • sports

Just In

News

“We are Alert, Watching, Taking Notes and Keeping Records”-AIG Maritime

Charge Maritime Stakeholders to be Law Abiding   The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Nigeria’s Maritime Police Command, Lagos, AIG Musa Yusuf Garba, psc(+), IIPS, PSPS, has reiterated ...
  • Nigeria Customs Launches Form M On Indigenous Platform

    By Editor
    May 6, 2025
  • Maritime Police Boss Celebrate Workers

    By Editor
    May 1, 2025
  • Oyetola Celebrates Maritime Workers on 2025 Workers’ Day

    By Editor
    May 1, 2025
  • Custom Intercept Drones, Fake Drugs, Renovate Public School In Lagos

    By Editor
    May 1, 2025
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
© 2013 Maritime Nigeria | All Rights Reserved