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LequteMan
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Nigeria's Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Friday explained why Nigeria’s four refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna are in terrible shape, Premium Times reports.
According Mrs. Alison-Madueke, the turn-around maintenance, TAM, had not taken place due to the level of decay at the plants.
She said on her assumption of office in 2007, an extensive tour of the refineries was carried out which exposed the shocking extent of dilapidation and decay of the equipment. She added that most of the units were obsolete that they could hardly produce again.
“To get a replacement for the equipment was not possible, because they were obsolete,” she said. “For over 20 years, the equipment were not changed or maintained.”
“It was clear that contracts had been given out by previous governments, but the people who took the contract did not know what they were doing because of the state the refineries were at the time.
A preliminary timetable for the repair work was drawn up for the repairs to be completed within 24 months to raise the production capacities of the three refineries to an average of 90 per cent.
After prolonged negotiations on security, insurance, and labour costs, the minister said government could not sign the formal agreement with the companies due to the prohibitive cost of foreign patronage and issues of guarantees and warranties for post-work maintenance.
The last time a comprehensive TAM was conducted on the three refineries was in 1992.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, monthly production information, MPI, for December 2014 showed that only Port Harcourt Refinery is currently functional at 8.77 per cent capacity utilization.
#Nigeria #NNPC
According Mrs. Alison-Madueke, the turn-around maintenance, TAM, had not taken place due to the level of decay at the plants.
She said on her assumption of office in 2007, an extensive tour of the refineries was carried out which exposed the shocking extent of dilapidation and decay of the equipment. She added that most of the units were obsolete that they could hardly produce again.
“To get a replacement for the equipment was not possible, because they were obsolete,” she said. “For over 20 years, the equipment were not changed or maintained.”
“It was clear that contracts had been given out by previous governments, but the people who took the contract did not know what they were doing because of the state the refineries were at the time.
A preliminary timetable for the repair work was drawn up for the repairs to be completed within 24 months to raise the production capacities of the three refineries to an average of 90 per cent.
After prolonged negotiations on security, insurance, and labour costs, the minister said government could not sign the formal agreement with the companies due to the prohibitive cost of foreign patronage and issues of guarantees and warranties for post-work maintenance.
The last time a comprehensive TAM was conducted on the three refineries was in 1992.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, monthly production information, MPI, for December 2014 showed that only Port Harcourt Refinery is currently functional at 8.77 per cent capacity utilization.
#Nigeria #NNPC
