NIGERIA: LARGEST IMPORTER OF PETROL

Nigeria now world’s largest importer of petroleum

Nigeria is the only member of OPEC that imports petrol according to Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru.

He said this through NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer during the 2018 Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF). Nigeria is the largest importer of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the world because refineries are not working at maximum capacity.

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Nigeria Council, organizes OLEF  yearly  to celebrate Oloibiri oil well. The Oloibiri oil well in Bayelsa is Nigeria’s first oil well, whose drilling took place in 1956.

Baru during the Forum said, the country  imports one million tonnes of PMS every month. Which is a shameful thing for a country that produces Oil and Gas and have refineries.

He also said the refineries have not been operating at maximum capacity, and NNPC are currently working to address this. Plans are ongoing to upgrade the current capacity of 445,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) to at least 1million bpd. The refineries will hopefully be fully functional and operational by December 2019.

Mr. Chikezie Nwosu, Chairman SPE Nigeria Council, said SPE-OLEF which is in its 18th year is bringing key industry players together to discuss the growth of the industry and the economy.

Nigeria’s gas flaring reduced from 2.5 billion standard cubic feet per day to 700 million standard cubic feet per day. This is indeed a sign of growth in the industry.

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