Is it not shameful that Nigeria will begin importation of crude oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela? And is it not self indictment that Mele Kyari, chief operating officer of an NNPCL which reaps from the sweat of the IOCs, shamelessly took responsibility to announce such a misnomer?
Wonders shall never end in Nigeria, that one of the leading producers of crude oil and natural gas in the world is about importing crude oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
Is this a joke taken too far by the NNPC LTD and federal government.
Even if crude oil is short in supply what happens to natural gas that Nigeria has been flaring? The gas flared is a waste because it can be converted to LIQUID FUELS. What are all the past Nigeria GAS TO LIQUID FUEL PROJECTS, GTL that we read on paper?
Rather than begin the GAS TO LIQUID FUEL projects, Nigeria is planning to import crude oil. If the crude oil is short in supply due to baseless advanced sales of crude oil swap by Buhari’s led administration due to the ‘I don’t care’ attitude of government, what happens to the natural gas Nigeria is flaring and burning out every second in the country?
What happens to NIGERIAN GAS FLARE COMMERCIALIZATION PROGRAMME, NGFCP initiated by former NNPC Group Managing Director, Ibe Kachikwu under Buhari’s led administration? Has the project been abandoned after he left office when he also doubled as Minister of State for the Petroleum Resources?
Nigeria has no reason to import crude oil. Every item derived from crude oil is also derived from natural gas including petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation fuels also known as ‘avgas’. Why can’t Nigeria develop its gas potentials rather than planning to import crude oil for local refining by Dangote and Bua refineries.
The Nigerian Gas Flares Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP) was launched by the minister of state for Petroleum Resources on December 13, 2016 and Mr Justice Derefaka of Shell,SPDC who was seconded to ministry of Petroleum Resources and NNPC was to to drive and manage this program.
If that gas program was not abandoned immediately Kachikwu left office as minister of state in the ministry of petroleum resources, by now Nigeria would have had many Gas To Liquid Fuel plants, GTL in the South South Region where gas is being flared.
Much money was expended before abandoning the gas flare projects. The program managers and officials of ministry of Petroleum Resources and NNPC even went to Houston Texas, US to woo investors that will buy these gas flare sites, that will convert the gas for commercial usage as LIQUID FUELS.
Every administration comes up with bright ideas and they get abandoned at expiration of that administration. It is shameful that Nigeria, a leading oil and gas producing country is planning to import crude oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
Who are those in NNPC LTD suggesting this unproductive option to meet up with refining of crude oil? In 2018 Nigeria lost $761.6 million to gas flaring according to experts. Between January 2022 and August 2023, data obtained from NATIONAL OIL SPILL DETECTION AND RESPONSE AGENCY has shown that Nigeria lost N843Biliion naira to gas flaring.
Every time I hear Nigerian leaders attending world summits talking of climate change. Nigerian leaders have no justification to talk of climate change when gas is being flared at such an alarming rate. No plan is in place to utilize the natural gas that is being flared.
The climate change talks by Nigerian leaders are ‘book talks’ said in business summits for nothing, but merely to please the global audience. The natural gas being flared are resources that could generate a lot of opportunities for Nigerians if the IOCs and Nigerian indigenous oil companies are mandated and directed by federal government and NNPC to build GAS TO LIQUID FUEL PLANTS,GTL in places they are flaring gas. For what reason is Nigerian leaders attending climate change summits? To be bench warmers or what?
Over 6,000 items/products can be derived from natural gas.
Nigeria has no reason to import crude oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela to refine locally. This is another ghost importation project. Why do Nigeria import crude oil and also import refined fuels? For what?
Who is selling this idea to the government of the day? And who is buying this useless idea?
It is painful that Nigerian elites are easily excited for nothing and they have been cajoled that importation of crude oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela will end fuel scarcity and high prices of fuels.
And the politicians in government and top government officials are quick to say that fuels are cheaper in Nigeria compared to foreign, Western countries, forgetting that there are many means of transportations, that one doesn’t need to depend on taxis and private vehicles to move from place to place in those advanced countries.
There are available number of options of public buses, underground tubes/trains, public couches to transport people without stress. No person lobbies politicians before roads are repaired and constructed in the advanced countries for public usage and yet they compare prices of fuels over there to justify the evil back in Nigeria.
Everything needed to produce refined fuels is rightly available in this country. Why will Tinubu as the minister of petroleum resources and NNPC LTD spend money to import crude oil when we have even abundant gas we can convert to petrol, diesel, kerosene? Why do Nigeria import what we have in abundance?
Of what economic reason is adopting importation of crude oil instead of converting natural gas to liquid fuels that we have in abundance and being wasted as flares even at the detriment of our health and environment.
It should be noted that the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Program, NGFCP and Gas To Liquid Fuel projects, GTL are not connected to the Nigerian Gas Company, NGC in any way.
The projects are entirely for the international oil companies, IOCs and Nigerian indigenous oil companies that are the operators. It should be a directive by the federal government and NNPC to the operators with back up funding to convert gas being flared to liquid fuels henceforth.
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes!