The federal government says it has concluded plans to host a
national conference on the integration of artisanal/modular petroleum refinery
operations to increase refining capacity and cause a drop in the price of
petroleum products.
Ita Enang, the senior special assistant to the president on
Niger Delta Affairs, was speaking at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
Enang said the aim of the conference is to integrate local
refining capacity into the refining of petroleum products such as petrol,
kerosene, diesel and other petrochemical products.
NAN reports that the conference which is jointly hosted by
the Office of the President and the ministry of finance, budget and national
planning, will hold on March 16 and 17.
According to Enang, the essence of the conference is to
mobilise all Nigerian assets including technologists, engineers and other
relevant disciplines including the persons who have been producing petroleum
products at the creeks.
“As the cost of crude goes higher, the cost of refined
petroleum products goes higher but if we refine these petroleum products in
Nigeria, the cost will be very low,” he explained.
“And, the intendment of the conference is to mobilise these
resources so that we can bring the prices of refined petroleum products down to
below N100 per litre.”
Enang further said that the conference would help to protect
the environment.
He explained that the conference was not for the purpose of
legitimising illegal mining operations but integrating the operators into the
legitimate refining process.
According to him, this will stop all illegalities and create
more employment for Nigerians.
He also said that the conference needs to be held urgently
because “most of the issues that will be addressed at the conference are such
issues that will require legislation, so any agreement that will be reached
which requires legislature will be accommodated in the PIB”.
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