The Crude Oil Refinery-Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) has called for a gradual elimination of petroleum-product imports as domestic refineries expand their capacity. CORAN Chairman, Momoh Jimah Oyarekhua, made the call at the 3rd Nigeria Oil Refining Summit in Lagos, unveiling the association's 10-point agenda to strengthen domestic refining and develop an export-oriented industry. Oyarekhua emphasized the need for Nigeria to move away from its dependence on imported petroleum products.
Oyarekhua stated that Nigeria should focus on ensuring that existing and emerging refineries have adequate crude supply, financing, infrastructure, and a competitive operating environment. The objective is to maximize installed refining capacity, meet domestic demand with locally refined products, develop surplus production, and export refined petroleum products to regional and international markets. He noted that Nigeria has the crude resources, refining assets, domestic market, and geographical advantage required to become a major refining hub for Africa.
However, Oyarekhua identified constraints around crude supply, infrastructure, and financing as challenges to achieving this goal. He stressed that domestic refineries must have reliable access to crude at commercially sustainable prices to operate efficiently and compete in domestic and international markets. Despite Nigeria's abundant crude resources, some domestic refineries face difficulties accessing crude oil on commercially viable terms.
CORAN's 10-point agenda includes fully institutionalizing the naira-for-crude arrangement, developing a domestic crude pricing template, and using crude swaps and proximity-based supply arrangements to reduce unnecessary transportation costs. The association also proposed a refinery development financing framework providing long-term financing, guarantees, and refinancing mechanisms for refinery expansion, upgrades, and new projects.
CORAN urged the government to provide regulatory and fiscal incentives for refinery optimization, particularly for investments in facilities that can increase production of Premium Motor Spirit, aviation fuel, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, and other high-value products. Oyarekhua emphasized that Nigeria's refining policy should ultimately be measured not only by crude production but also by the proportion of crude converted into higher-value products locally.
Increased domestic refining would help retain foreign exchange, create jobs, support manufacturing and petrochemical industries, and generate export earnings. Oyarekhua called for a national refining and export roadmap with measurable targets for refinery capacity utilization, expansion, domestic supply, the elimination of petroleum-product imports, and growth in refined-product exports. He also stressed the need for infrastructure supporting refineries to be developed alongside refining capacity.
Oyarekhua urged stakeholders in the petroleum industry to turn the summit's discussions into practical commitments to increase refinery utilization and expand Nigeria's refined-product exports. The ultimate goal should be for Nigeria to meet its domestic petroleum-product requirements while becoming a dependable supplier to other African markets.
Key points
- CORAN seeks to reposition Nigeria as a major exporter of refined products.
- The association's 10-point agenda aims to strengthen domestic refining and develop an export-oriented industry.
- Nigeria has the potential to become a major refining hub for Africa with adequate crude supply, financing, infrastructure, and a competitive operating environment.
