The House of Representatives on Thursday called on the Federal Government to develop a blueprint to allow indigenous refiners in the nation’s petroleum production value chain.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion on the “Need to reform and regulate Nigerian petroleum production activities to integrate artisanal refiners in the production value chain, moved by the House Deputy Minority Whip, Mr George Ozodinobi.
Moving the motion, Ozodinobi noted that constitutionally, it is important to harness the nation’s resources to promote its prosperity.
He argued that lives and revenues have been lost “Due to the government’s inability to recognise, regulate, and control artisanal refining of petroleum products,” a practice which according to him has been prevalent in the Niger Delta region for decades.
He further noted that in 2016, “The Federal Government proposed the integration of artisanal refiners into mainstream operations in the oil and gas sector to promote the inclusion of more local content in the industry and advance the use of home-grown technology in the refining of petroleum products in the region.”
Ozodinobi also noted that after seven decades of massive devastation and environmental degradation of the Niger Delta with its ecosystem, policymakers are still oblivious to the crucial need to encourage artisanal refining and lay a foundation for the local technology that will salvage Nigeria from its energy poverty.
He lamented the stigmatization of indigenous artisanal refiners as ‘oil thieves’ stressing that “The deployment of the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies to destroy artisanal refineries in an unprofessional manner further degrade the environment which provides the energy needs of communities in the Niger Delta.”
This neglect of local refiners according to the lawmaker “Has left Nigeria with four moribund refineries for decades, a globally rated exporter of crude oil and chronic importer of finished petroleum products with a litany of woes as confirmed by the ongoing fuel crisis and validated by the alleged conspiracy against the Dangote Refinery.
He further urged Nigeria to be committed to the promotion of indigenous technology in line with the examples laid by advanced nations of the world including Japan, the United States of America, and China, among others.
When put to a voice vote, members voted unanimously in support of the motion and the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu who presided over the plenary session, on behalf of the House, urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission to study and articulate a regulatory legal framework to integrate artisanal refiners into the formal crude oil production value chain.
The House also mandated its Committees on Petroleum Resources-Downstream, Upstream, and Midstream as well as Local Content to ensure compliance and report within four weeks for further legislative action.