WHEN the Dangote Group launched its refinery last year, the news was not only cheering but indicated that the dividend of the Federal Government’s bold step to liberalise the oil and gas sector was beginning to trickle in.

SITUATED in the Lekki Free Zone, the $20 billion refinery project with a capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day was first announced in 2013, but took off in 2016 and was completed in 2022. The indigenous refinery, which was launched in May 2023 received its first crude oil shipment in December 2023 and began with production of diesel and aviation fuel before venturing into processing of petrol.

IN view of the economic challenges that followed the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government on May 29, 2023, Nigerians had high hopes that the new Dangote Refinery would bring down the pump price of petrol that had moved from N195 to N557, later N617, until it exceeded N1,000 per litre in filling stations. The refinery was also expected to not just bring an end to the era of fuel importation but put Nigeria in a position to export refined crude oil products to other countries.

UNFORTUNATELY, the refinery did not immediately bring the much-anticipated relief to Nigerians who were groaning under the heavy burden that the persistent increase in fuel pump price had brought upon them.

HOWEVER, late in November, the management of Dangote Refinery announced a drop in its fuel price from N990 to N970, which amounted to N20 reduction. According to the media office of the Dangote Refinery, the price reduction was a gesture to appreciate Nigerians for their support as the year was  ending.

THE Hope  also notes that shortly after Dangote Refinery disclosed the reduction in its price, the Federal Government announced that the Port-Harcourt Refinery had resumed operations after several years of redundancy. News, however, had it that the newly revived Port-Harcourt Refinery was going to be selling its fuel for N1,045 per litre, N75 behind the Dangote price, a report that was later debunked by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

IT would be recalled that the Port-Harcourt Refinery, which is one of the four refineries owned by the Federal Government and run by NNPC which later became NNPCL, was established in 1965, other ones in Warri and Kaduna. Unfortunately, it later became moribund, alongside the other refineries, for several years and all efforts to revive them prove abortive, thereby necessitating Nigeria’s dependence on exportation of all crude oil products, a seemingly totally unavoidable option.

IN March 2021, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a $1.5 billion loan for the renovation and modernisation of the refinery. Unfortunately, the renovation project was going to drag for a few more years. Shortly after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over last year, he had promised that the refinery would take off again before the end of the  year, but that did not happen.

WHILE  noting that the price of N970 is the amount that the Dangote Refinery will sell petrol to marketers, The Hope is still optimistic that it will bring the much-needed reprieve to Nigerians as it would also lead to a drop in the price of petrol to the final consumers. We equally envisage that Nigerians will look forward to more of such reductions in the months ahead.

WE  equally appeal to retailers  buying petrol from Dangote Refinery at the new price to ensure that the impact of the price reduction is felt by the  final consumers of the product.

While we commend the Federal Government for reactivating the Port-Harcourt Refinery, though it dragged for several years, we implore the Tinubu-led government to double up its efforts in reviving the other refineries in Kaduna and Warri, as we hope that such a feat would further bring down the retail price of fuel and relieve Nigerians of every hardship occasioned by unaffordable price of petrol.

THE Hope  notes with dismay that several billions of naira had been spent on turnaround maintenance of our refineries in the past without appreciable result. We, therefore, implore the Federal Government that, rather than allow  these refineries  to become a drain-pipe in the nation’s resources,  it should consider privatising or outrightly selling them and investing the money in fully upgrading the newly revived Port-Harcourt Refinery, which is said to be operating at 70 percent of its capacity.