House Urges NUPRC to Integrate Artisanal Refiners into Oil Value Chain

Juliet Akoje in Abuja.

The House of Representatives has urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to study and articulate a regulatory legal framework to integrate artisanal refiners into the formal crude oil production value chain.

This was sequel to 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 Hon. George Ibezimako Ozodinobi on Thursday.
Ozodinobi noted that it is incumbent to abide by the constitutional dictate to harness the resources of the nation and to promote national prosperity and an efficient, dynamic, and self-reliant economy.

He also noted that lives and revenues have been lost due to government’s inability to recognize, regulate, and control artisanal refining of petroleum products, which is prevalent in the Niger Delta region for decades.
The lawmaker recalled 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.
He said: “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 us from energy poverty.”

He further stressed that the demonization of the indigenous artisanal refiners as “oil thieves” and 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.
His words: “The policy 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”
“Cognizant that the historic reference of industrialization and technological growth affirms the support and protection of indigenous technology as exemplified by Japan, China, and other Asian economies and even the United States.”

The House however mandated its Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream, Upstream, and Midstream) and Local Content to ensure compliance and report within four (4) weeks for further legislative action.