By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives has commenced investigation of importation of adulterated petroleum products into the country, difficulties of domestic refineries in accessing crude oil feedstock and broader threats those issues pose to Nigeria’s energy security.
Speaker of the House, Rep. Abbas Tajudeen at the inauguration of the Joint Committee on Petroleum Upstream and Downstream on Monday in Abuja, expressed concern over the resurgence of fuel queues at petrol stations, increasing cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), and unavailability of crude oil feedstock for downstream domestic refineries.
Naijablitznews.com recalled that the House of Representatives had at plenary on July 9th 2024 , adopted a motion on, “Urgent need to carry out a legislative forensic investigation into the challenges affecting the downstream and midstream petroleum sectors in Nigeria and other related matters to find out a lasting solution to all challenges”.
The House had subsequently mandated the Committees on Petroleum Resources Midstream and Downstream to “Carry out a legislative forensic investigation into the resurgence of fuel queues in petrol stations, allegations of high cost of PMS, unavailability of fuel stock for downstream domestic refineries, disruption of distribution of PMS products, unfair subsidization of PMS and other petroleum products, racketeering and favouritism in the Pro Forma Invoice System regime.” etc
Represented by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, Speaker Abbas said the investigation will also extend to other related issues impacting the sector; adding that the quality of petroleum products imported into Nigeria has come under scrutiny, and authorities must ensure compliance with global standards.
The Speaker insisted that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) must guarantee that all petrol imported into the country is rigorously tested in laboratories to meet the standard sulphur and octane levels.
He said: “It is unacceptable that the petrol imported into the country contains high sulphur levels, is leaded, and has low octane levels – as we notably experienced in recent past that even led to socio-economic losses on a national scale including the knocking down of the engines of vehicles of Nigerians in their hundreds.
“In carbon control economies, maintaining high octane levels is a significant regulatory issue for both energy regulators and environmental protection
agencies. The lower the octane level, the cheaper the cost of refining, but this should not be at the expense of quality and environmental standards.
“The role of regulatory bodies such as the Standards Organisation of
Nigeria (SON), the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), and the NMDPRA is pivotal in ensuring that the petrol consumed in Nigeria is of environmentally friendly grade.
“One critical aspect we must address is the infrastructure for quality assurance that enables robust testing of petroleum products with the standard practice for manual sampling fully adhered to.
“It is expected that the joint committee on this nationally important assignment will carry out investigations on the quality and the number in of laboratories that both the
NMDPRA and SON have or use for their tests and return with actionable feedback.
“As for the difficulties encountered by domestic refiners in accessing reliable supplies of crude oil feedstock for their refineries, it must be reiterated that
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is fully committed to providing a level playing ground for producers and refiners to do business in the industry.
“Therefore, I implore the rule of engagement to ensure that the pricing model from the oil producers does not hinder the domestic refineries,” he added.
In their remarks, Co-chairmen of the Joint Investigative committees; Rep. Ikenga Ugochinyere (Downstream) and Rep. Henry Okojie (Midstream) called on all stakeholders to provide comprehensive support, including essential information and documentation.
They therefore urged refinery operators, importers, producers, and marketers of petroleum products to share their complaints, suggestions, and independent facts.
“To ensure a thorough examination, the committee plans to: Conduct laboratory investigations at all local refineries, marketer and importer facilities, and regulatory agency labs such as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Visit various filling stations of different marketers, importers’ depots, and other relevant sites to collect samples for analysis.
“These samples will be examined in their labs, and also in alternative private independent labs to ascertain sulfur levels and other critical components. The committee will hire an internationally certified lab and where possible conduct live testing of all imported and locally produced products to help resolve the issues. The results of such testing on all imported and produced petroleum products, will be announced publicly.
“The committee affirmed that apart from finding a final solution to the alleged embarrassing issue of non-availability of crude supply to domestic refiners both modular and big refiners, the findings will stretch to crude produced and the quantity that ought to go to local refiners and the reasons for falling short, the impact of crude forward sales on availability of crude to domestic refiners and other issues,” they said.
According to the joint committee, letters of invitation for paper submissions and appearances have been dispatched to key stakeholders, including the Minister for Petroleum (Oil), the management of NNPCL, the GCEO Mele Kyari, Executive Vice President Downstream, and Authority Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Operations Officers, and their lab heads or testing partners.
Others include IPMAN, PETROAN, NUPRC CEO, independent oil producers, international oil companies (IOCs), importers, marketers, and depot owners.