PENGASSAN Urges FG on Local Production Before Deregulation
by MESHACK IDEHEN
Nigerian National Mirror
Jun 5, 2015
Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to focus the deregulation policy of the nation’s oil and gas industry on local production rather than importation.
In a statement by its National Public Relations Officer, Mr Emmanuel Ojugbana, the association noted that if local refining was not increased to meet local demand for petroleum products, especially the premium motor spirit (petrol), removing subsidy on petroleum products will bring inflict serious hardship on Nigerians.
The association said removing subsidy while the country depends on importation of refined products would make prices of refined petroleum products to be out of the reach of the masses and causes inflation.
Ojugbana stated that importation of refined petroleum products was a drain on the nation’s revenue, adding that it creates jobs for the refining nations in spite of the high unemployment rate confronting Nigeria.
He stated: “Importation of refined petroleum products is also putting the Naira under undue pressure and creating social problems for the economy. This is unacceptable to PENGASSAN. Abrupt removal of fuel subsidy will create chaos that may ground the economy.
PENGASSAN calls for well-coordinated measures with timeline to achieve selfsufficiency in local refining as a means of proffering acceptable steps to end fuel subsidy. “This should be combined with such other measures for effective optimization of gas especially for domestic, industrial, electricity and automotive energy. Such will create other affordable and friendly sources for energy needs.”
He called on the government to declare a state of emergency in the downstream oil and gas sector and convene an all-stakeholders forum to come up with concrete and sustainable steps with reliable timeline for achieving demand-supply equilibrium through local refining.
The strategy must be to guarantee a total stoppage of both petroleum products importation and fuel subsidy. According to him, Nigerians expect relying on the resources that the nation is endowed with should be able to guarantee refined products at affordable prices to the populace, adding that this could have been possible if local refining capacities are enhanced.
Ojugbana explained that both the government and industry operators had always yearned to promote competition and efficiency but failed to assure on how to enhance local refining capacity to contain local demand.
Nigerian National Mirror
Jun 5, 2015
Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to focus the deregulation policy of the nation’s oil and gas industry on local production rather than importation.
In a statement by its National Public Relations Officer, Mr Emmanuel Ojugbana, the association noted that if local refining was not increased to meet local demand for petroleum products, especially the premium motor spirit (petrol), removing subsidy on petroleum products will bring inflict serious hardship on Nigerians.
The association said removing subsidy while the country depends on importation of refined products would make prices of refined petroleum products to be out of the reach of the masses and causes inflation.
Ojugbana stated that importation of refined petroleum products was a drain on the nation’s revenue, adding that it creates jobs for the refining nations in spite of the high unemployment rate confronting Nigeria.
He stated: “Importation of refined petroleum products is also putting the Naira under undue pressure and creating social problems for the economy. This is unacceptable to PENGASSAN. Abrupt removal of fuel subsidy will create chaos that may ground the economy.
PENGASSAN calls for well-coordinated measures with timeline to achieve selfsufficiency in local refining as a means of proffering acceptable steps to end fuel subsidy. “This should be combined with such other measures for effective optimization of gas especially for domestic, industrial, electricity and automotive energy. Such will create other affordable and friendly sources for energy needs.”
He called on the government to declare a state of emergency in the downstream oil and gas sector and convene an all-stakeholders forum to come up with concrete and sustainable steps with reliable timeline for achieving demand-supply equilibrium through local refining.
The strategy must be to guarantee a total stoppage of both petroleum products importation and fuel subsidy. According to him, Nigerians expect relying on the resources that the nation is endowed with should be able to guarantee refined products at affordable prices to the populace, adding that this could have been possible if local refining capacities are enhanced.
Ojugbana explained that both the government and industry operators had always yearned to promote competition and efficiency but failed to assure on how to enhance local refining capacity to contain local demand.
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