Mr Osten Olorunsola,
chairman of the board of the Energy Institute of Nigeria, stated in a keynote
address at a two-day Stakeholders Technical Roundtable on “Perennial Petroleum
Products Scarcity in Nigeria, Prospect and Sustainable Solutions” organised by
the House of Representatives, Committee on Civil Society Organisations and
Development Partners in Abuja.
The ongoing disruption of
crude oil production due to the bombing of oil installations by militants in
the Niger Delta and current efforts at boosting refining capacity by both
public and private investors may force the country to become a net importer of
crude oil in the nearest future an oil and gas expert has warned.
Mr. Olorunsola who retired
from Shell Petroleum to join the public sector chronicled the history of oil
exploration in Nigeria and factors leading to the dominance of the sector to
the detriment of other sectors.
He said the nation in order
to move forward from the stagnation caused by over-reliance on oil Nigeria must
avoid being stuck with past paradigms, which tended to shut down ideas and
limited solution horizons.
“Having clear understanding
and accommodating new thinking and ideas may just be all we have been waiting
for. For example, I see a surge to establish new refineries as a way of helping
to solve the supply problem.
“That looks good, albeit
with potential huge risks, as at the last tally, country-wide aggregate
capacity of existing plus newly approved refinery licences was greater
than two million barrels per day by the
year 2020.
“Whereas that looks like
the direction we aspire to go, I like to freely advise green refinery investors
to ensure all critical considerations for viability are met. A key requirement
that gives me real concern is the availability of crude oil as feed stock.
“If all that capacity is
indeed achieved as planned (which we are praying for), I bet we may become a
net importer of crude oil considering the installed and available production
capacity today, the natural decline in the hydrocarbon reservoirs, and the
unhealthy outlook for investment in the upstream due to militancy in the
production environment,” he said.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara who
was represented by his Deputy, Sulaiman Yussuff Lasun while declaring the event
open expressed worries on the incessant nature of scarcity of petroleum product
in Nigeria, describing it as unacceptable.
“It is now a fact that the
oil and gas sector is of critical importance to our economic survival as a
nation. Therefore the incessant scarcity of petroleum products has become
worrisome which has been attributed by several analysts to corruption in the sector
created by infrastructure deficit, managerial incompetence, lack of proper
regulations just to mention but a few.
“However, with the
increment of the fuel pump price, the products scarcity and long queues of fuel
have subsided but at a higher cost which may not be affordable by the common
man on the street,” he said.
Dogara explained that the
National Assembly as a parliament may not have all the answers but is confident
enough to provide platforms for experts and other stakeholders to assist in
bringing solutions for the problems, forming the basis for legislation.
Also speaking during his
welcome address, chairman of the Committee, Hon. Peter Akpatason (PDP, Edo),
stated that the roundtable had become necessary due to that fact that scarcity
of petroleum products has become solely a Nigerian problem created by Nigerians
for selfish ends, making it to defy all applied ad hoc solutions.
“Due to the ad hoc and
unsustainable nature of most of the measures adopted in the past, the problem
has continued to resurface from time to time, and has therefore become an
embarrassment and a major stumbling block in the path of our national
development, ” he said.
Akpatason whose committee
has no direct bearing with issues in the oil sector also gave an insight into
what informed it’s decision to organise the event, saying that “apart from the
fact that all Nigerians have a role to play and are consumers of the product,
the search for sustainable solutions to development challenges has to be an
all-inclusive affair”.
“This event is therefore
deliberately designed to provide opportunity for stakeholders from both
private, public sectors and civil society organisations with thematic interest
and experiences in the subject matter, to examine the issues critically with a
view to identifying new ideas, practices and solutions in light of trending
global developments, ” he added.
The event, which was,
organised in collaboration with civil society organisations and international
development partners and ending today, is expected to generate communiqué with
far-reaching recommendations aimed to proffering solutions to the subject
matter.
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