The Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide its members with intervention funds such as was given to Dangote to enable them to complete their refinery projects.
This was even as they stated that small and medium-sized modular refineries are needed and essential to meet the demand for fuel supply, thus fostering competition.
In a statement jointly signed by the Executive Chairman, Mr Momoh Jimah Oyarekhua, and Secretary Barrister Olusegun Ilori, they said this is one of the recommendations that will help the current administration with the short, mid, and long-term solutions to Nigeria’s energy challenges. It also stressed the need for a guaranteed supply of crude to the refineries with Naira payments and offtake of the products.
The association further called for the removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks from the regulatory bodies, saying, “The present challenge relating to regulatory agencies duplicating licenses and permits and engaging in conflicting directives put operators
in a confusing state of affairs.” While also stressing the need for the government to take along all stakeholders within the refining value chain, adding that the “quick wins” will help in the process of getting more local refineries to come onstream.
In the same vein, the Association appealed to labour unions and Nigerians to give the new administration time to sort out the deregulation challenges which have crippled the country’s economy for a long.
“The initial pains will soon be over if we follow through with determination and the necessary human face and palliatives which must be injected to cushion the social impact of deregulation,” the statement reads.
