Oil refinery investor supports FG’s subsidy removal

African Refinery Port Harcourt Limited, NNPC’s Joint Venture Partner in the 100,000 barrels per day refinery currently being developed within the Port Harcourt Refinery complex, has lauded the bold action of the newly inaugurated Bola Ahmed Tinubu government in removing the petroleum subsidy.

In a press statement, African Refinery’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Omotayo Adebajo, also called on Nigerians to be patient in the face of the immediate hardship caused by the subsidy removal and to support the president’s strategic announcement which in his opinion has been long overdue.

While acknowledging that the subsidy removal has resulted in higher pump prices, he expressed the belief that in the long run, the president’s action will boost investment in local refinery capacity in addition to the short-term benefit that subsidy removal will free up money that can be immediately channelled by the new government into high impact projects that would benefit a vast majority of Nigerians.

Mr Adebajo called on the president to treat governance as a continuum by deepening the previous government’s commitment to supporting local refinery projects through NNPC Ltd’s strategic equity investment in African Refinery’s 100kbd project in Port Harcourt and the recently commissioned Dangote Refinery in Lagos.

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He noted that these projects are critical to Nigeria’s drive to stop the importation of fuel and guarantee energy security and can only succeed with the continued support of the federal government.

The ARPHL’s chief executive stated that his company’s refinery project, which is on track to be completed during the tenure of the new administration, will significantly increase local production of refined petroleum products whilst safeguarding a more competitive market of multiple producers located in more than one geographical region in the country.

The press release also announced that the company has commenced Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) activities, which marks a significant and critical milestone towards turning the vision of the refinery into reality.