MEMAN to FG: Hand over four refineries for effective optimisation

The Executive Secretary, Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Clement Isong Jnr., has urged the Federal Government to resuscitate the country’s four refineries by handing them over to those who can run them efficiently in Nigeria.

Isong said this while airing his views on the effect of the ongoing conflict between the United States of America and Iran in Nigeria.

He described the move as the most effective policy to push for the speedy rehabilitation and rejigging of the refineries.

The Executive Secretary said that having these refineries working answers many problems by creating competitive prices.

“We must all push for the speedy rehabilitation and rejigging of Nigeria’s four refineries. We have them. The refineries are there, but not working. What policy should we put in place- Hand those refineries to somebody who can run them efficiently.

“By having those refineries up and running, it solves so many problems in the country. It creates the competition we need to keep prices competitive.

“When the customer is always king, it means he is always king where he has options. But, if I am the only supplier, the customer is not the king but me.” He said.

ALSO READ: Diaspora Nigerians seek collaboration with FG to fix health sector challenges

Specifically on the growing crisis between the United States and Iran, Clement called for a Safety Stock, describing it as a mixture of crude oil or gas storage as well as petrol or diesel in the tank.

He noted that Nigeria needs to have this stock in its four corners in order to have an effective fallback.

Isong explained that Nigeria was not the worst hit by the crisis, adding that the country was at 25-day stock when the crisis ensued, even though it was projected a 60-day stock.

“There are things we should learn and put in place. There will always be geographical differences between countries with conflicting interests and sometimes those disagreements get out of hand. So, every country needs to prepare for that rainy day.

“In our case, First is, we need to have what is called Safety Stock. In some countries, it is a mixture between what I stored as crude oil or gas and what is stored I finished products, such as petrol or diesel, in the tank.

“In some countries, I must have two months of stock. Now, that two months of stock costs money. But, it has to be paid for by the consumers because the consumer is paying for his energy security. So, instead of paying N1 or N0.10 for the product, you sort of pay N1.10 for the cost of keeping the stock so that when something like that happens in the Middle East, your price volatility is limited because you already had two months stock waiting and you will not queue up for product because you have safety stock in your tank.

“What that means in a country like Nigeria is that you need to have that stock in the four corners of Nigeria so that you can fall back on that if anything like this happens. That is the first and most important thing.

“Nigeria is not the worst and this happened when Nigeria was at about 25 day stock. So, it was not so bad. That is why we have not suffered the queues other countries have suffered.” He said.

For the transition of the Association’s name from Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) to MEMAN, the Association’s Economic Intelligence Research and Regulation Head, Ogechi Nkwoji said it intended to align with the Regulator’s mission of sustainability drive, especially as other forms of energy are introduced to the public.

“We were formally MOMAN but rebranded to MEMAN in January 2024.

“Our resolve was to first of all align with our regulator, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). They have started developing a programme to focus on sustainability in the Midstream and Downstream sector to start aligning with the SDG Goals.

“We understand where the world is going. We see the impact of Fossil Fuels and also for energy mix. Now, what we are trying to do is to introduce different kinds of energy to the public – Solar, EV, CNG and so many more,” she said.