We Can't Restore Refineries Soon — NNPC Boss

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, says the country’s moribund refineries cannot be quickly restored.

Kyari mentioned this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), describing the situation as regrettable.

He added that the NNPC is making efforts to bring the refineries back to work.

The committee is investigating the increase in prices of diesel and cooking gas.

“The refineries will not come back tomorrow. There is a process going on.

"We have decided to do a quick fix for the Warri refinery,” the NNPC boss said.

He said no one could guarantee the security of petroleum supply, adding that countries were preserving excess volume that they had in their kitty.

“The world has never seen this kind of uncertainty.

"Today, countries are stockpiling products. Shortly before COVID-19, the world was already facing a shortfall of 3 million barrels of supply of oil.”

The GMD said there had been no control to manage the energy crisis across the world, adding that, “to guarantee energy security means you just make products available at any time and at any cost.”