PENGASSAN reacts as Dangote Refinery fails to meet promised production deadline

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has responded to the delay in the start of production at the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery, which was promised to begin in August.

The refinery was officially commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari in May, but has yet to begin production, though the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had scaled back its fuel imports program in anticipation of the refinery’s operational commencement.

The delay in the refinery’s commencement of operations has been attributed to a number of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the global shortage of steel and obtaining the necessary permits from the government.

Meanwhile, The Punch reports that a source at the refinery disclosed that the management was unsure of when petrol refining would begin at the Ibeju-Lekki facility.

“For now, the management has not come out with any official date,” the source said.

The President of PENGASSAN, Festus Osifo, has advised the Federal Government to focus on completing the Port Harcourt refinery rather than focus on the Dangote refinery.

He said, “We should rather focus on making other refineries work because it would cut down on freight rates from importation, and would reduce prices. Dangote is a private businessman and can decide tomorrow that he would not refine again, although the government has a 20 per cent stake in the refinery. We should rather push for our own refineries, and ask the government the question such as; when is the Port Harcourt refinery going to start refining petrol?”

The National Controller Operations, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mike Osatuyi, also said there was no cause for alarm as far as petrol supply was concerned as the NNPCL was still importing.

He also advised the Federal Government, to ensure that other local refineries come on stream rather than depend on the Dangote refinery.

The Dangote Refinery is the largest single-train refinery in the world and is expected to meet Nigeria’s entire fuel needs and export to other countries.