For Non-functioning Refineries Workers Earn N136 BIllion, as NNPC Earmarks $3 Billion For Upgrade
- Refinery workers at the three moribund refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna have earned about N136 billion
- According to the NNPC, it has budgeted about $3 billion for the upgrade of the three refineries since 2021
- There are about 1,701 workers at the three refineries, most of whom are idle since the refineries were shut down
Refinery workers at the shut Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri refineries will earn N138 billion, which causes the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) some deficits.
There are some worries over meeting deadlines and violations of local content laws plaguing the ongoing refurbishment of the refineries.
Source: UGC
Refineries shut down for more than two years
The Guardian reported that the NNPC had shut down the 445,000-capacity refineries for more than two years and retained over 1,701 staff at the refineries and set aside $1.5 billion for rehabilitation Port Harcourt refinery and $1.4 billion for those of Warri and Kaduna.
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The refineries incurred total losses of N7,088 billion in August of 2020 and N7,043 billion in September of the same year before spiking to N5,489 billion in October.
In November 2020, it surged to N5,995 billion and increased again to N8,278 billion in December of that same year.
According to Punch, the refinery workers earned bout N69 billion despite generating nothing in 2021.
The operational deficit for January 2021 was N5,371 billion, N6,879 billion loss for February, N3,866 billion in March, N3,544 billion in April and N5,243 billion in May, N3,753 billion in June and N3, and 752 billion in July and N3,819 billion in August of the same year.
NNPC spends N68 billion paying salaries and other expenses at the obsolete refineries every year.
Non-functional refineries incur huge debts
For two years in a row, the NNPC incurred about N136 billion in losses.
The CEO of NNPC, Mele Kyari had said that the refineries were shut down due to the non-sustainability of their operations as overhead remained the drag on the records of the company.
The NNPC had 7,338 staff, 1,701 of which work at the refineries in Nigeria.
660 staff of the organisation, representing 8.99 per cent of the firm’s total workforce, are at the Kaduna refinery, 506 people work at the Port-Harcourt refinery and 437 workers at the Warri refinery.
Billions earmarked for upgrade
The Nigerian government had approved $1.5 billion to refurbish the Port Harcourt refinery and also modernise its complex and similar contracts for the Kaduna and Warri refineries.
Recall that the Federal Government had authorised about $1.5 billion for the Port Harcourt refinery complex in March 2021.
NNPC Is Now Nigeria’s Biggest Company by Shares Capital As It Enters a New Era After 44 Years
Recall Legit.ng reported that President Muhammdu Buhari on Tuesday, 19 July 2022, officially changed the status of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to become a fully Limited Liability Company.
NNPC's operations will now be fully compliant with the terms of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) of 20.
This means that the general public can now buy and sell NNPC shares, but not yet.
Source: Legit.ng
