By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is planning to grow its revenue to N4.5 trillion as it plans to end the importation of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, by December 2024.
The chief executive of the company, Mr Mele Kyari, while speaking on Thursday, said the nation would not need to rely on fuel from outside the country because its refineries would have been fully operational.
Nigeria is currently revamping its four refineries to make the product available to residents of the country as it officially stopped the payment of subsidy on petrol on June 30, 2023.
At a meeting with Mr Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House of Representatives yesterday, Mr Kyari assured that the importation of fuel into the country would end next year.
He stated that efforts are being made to ensure that the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refining Company would be completed next month, with operations expected to resume in January 2024.
According to him, workers are at the refineries in Warri and Kaduna to ensure that the deadline for the completion of the repairs is met.
“I can confirm to you that by the end of December this year, we will start the Port Harcourt refinery; early in the first quarter of 2024, we will start the Warri refinery and by the end of 2024, the Kaduna refinery will come into operation.
“This is the commitment we are giving today and you can hold us accountable for this. In 2024, many of the initiatives including the rehabilitation of our refineries and also efforts of small-scale refineries, and the upcoming Dangote refinery, will make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products in 2024.
“We will no longer be talking about fuel importation by the end of 2024. I am very optimistic that this will crystallise,” the NNPC chief informed the Speaker.
