Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Emmanuel Ibe- Kachikwu has said that the only solution to the problem of fuel supply and power supply is the construction of more refineries.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Kachikwu said this while addressing Energy Correspondents shortly after he was conducted round the Kaduna Refining Petrochemical Company (KRPC) in Kaduna.
He said “What is obtainable is that most of our refineries are close to 30 to 40 years old; we need to begin to look at building new refineries in the same land space where they can share facilities so that you will have something to lean on when these old ones are beginning to kick out.
“Obviously, we need new modules because with this modules it won’t get us very rapidly. Three out of the six units of the plants were down.
“Some of them for a very long period. We need to sit down and see what modules, how do you turn around the new refinery. How do you work on emergency basis components of the ones that is there.
“Kaduna has a very unique place in my heart like I said because I grew up in Kano and I used to come here often.
“It is so key for the survival of the economy of Kaduna State and the rest of the North and we really need to focus on getting this things work and getting it to expand.
“Without them we are not going to get out of problems of fuel supply, power supply and all that. So we are going to have a whole commercial structure,a whole engineering structure; a lot needs to be done different from models we are pursuing right now .”
On the security of pipelines, he said “As you are aware that we are working with the security forces to enhance the Warri to Kaduna points and they have been tested now for integrity and I think by my understanding for the last testing is that is fairly okay now to take control if the FCC units are working.
“So on a short term basis, we have been able to deal with that medium term basis; we are going to work with the security agencies to ensure that the sort of destruction you find on pipelines not just from Warri to Kaduna, but the whole country, becomes a thing of the past.
“We working on a very enhanced, very robust, very accelerated programme with the security forces to deal with that.
“We are trying everything that we can to it and we are sending a body language that the business of messing around with the pipelines is over and I think the message is going round as laud as ever.”
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