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CAPE TOWN, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Nigeria aims to end the country’s so-called oil-for-fuel swap system in the near future and instead rely on petroleum products from local refineries, which it hopes to have in operational again for 2023. the head of Nigeria’s national oil company, NNPC, said on Tuesday.
The oil swap agreements, in operation since 2016, provide virtually all of Nigeria’s gasoline and some of the diesel and jet fuel. NNPC exchanges around 300,000 barrels of oil per day for imported fuels.
While NNPC has refineries with a combined nominal capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, decades without regular maintenance or investment make the oil-exporting country almost entirely dependent on imports of refined products. Nigeria closed its oil refineries in April until they can be repaired.
NNPC Director Mele Kyari told a virtual panel at the annual conference of the African Association of Refiners and Distributors that while the exchanges had saved the country approximately $ 1 billion a year, they could soon be phased out.
“I don’t see an extension of that process in the near future as we move forward and transition to more local production,” he said.
Kyari said she expected NNPC’s refineries to be fully renovated and working again by 2023. NNPC has said it will partner with private companies to upgrade the refineries and then operate them as part of a campaign to process its own oil and reduce dependence on imported fuels.
“Our plan is to deliver them all by 2023,” Kyari said. He did not mention any companies that have expressed interest in the upgrade and repair projects.
“Our banking partners are aware of this. It is a program that we have agreed with our partners and we believe that we can fulfill it, ”he said. (Information by Wendell Roelf; edited by Libby George and Jane Merriman)
