Why Nigeria’s Refineries Will Never Work – Obasanjo

Why Nigeria’s Refineries Will Never Work – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asserted that Nigeria’s four oil refineries, located in Warri, Port Harcourt, and Kaduna states, will never function as long as the government maintains control over them.

In an interview with The Cable Online Newspaper, Obasanjo revealed that Shell Oil Development Company had declined his offer to operate the refineries.

Obasanjo explained that despite his persistent requests, Shell’s managing director at the time had provided four reasons why the company was unwilling to engage in running Nigeria’s refineries, one of which was “excessive corruption in refineries.”

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President Bola Tinubu had previously assured that the Port Harcourt petroleum refinery would resume operations by December 2023 after undergoing rehabilitation.

In response to questions about the state of Nigeria’s refineries during the interview, Obasanjo stated, “They will not work as long as the government is keeping hold of them.” He recounted his attempts to hand over the refineries to Shell for operation during his presidency, but Shell had declined, citing various reasons, including their focus on upstream activities, the unattractiveness of the refineries as a business venture, and the pervasive corruption in the sector.

Obasanjo also mentioned an unsuccessful attempt to sell two of the four refineries to businessmen Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola. They had offered to purchase a 51 percent stake in the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries for $761 million, but the sale was canceled by President Umaru Yar’Adua, and the refineries were returned to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Regarding the power sector, Obasanjo commented on the persistent challenges and delays in achieving adequate electricity generation. He highlighted that despite ordering 42 turbines with the goal of reaching 10,000 megawatts of power by 2007 during his presidency, the sector still struggles to provide a consistent 4,000 megawatts since his departure from office. He emphasized the importance of addressing fundamental issues in the power sector for lasting improvements to occur.