The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to expedite outstanding processes needed to conclude a proposed technical equity partnership with two Chinese firms to complete and operate the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries.
Comrade Inimgba Emmanuel Okubowei, former IPMAN unit chairman and current zonal secretary of the association’s Eastern Zone (System 2E), said delays in finalising the agreement were denying Nigerians the expected economic and social benefits of the investment.
The proposed partnership involves China’s Sanjiang Chemical Company Limited and Xinganchen (Fuzhou) Industrial Park Operation and Management Co. Ltd., which signed a memorandum of understanding with NNPCL on April 30 to restore and expand operations at the two state-owned refineries.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on the sidelines of the “Good Governance Summit” organised by Working People United (WOPU), Okubowei called on NNPCL to move quickly to implement the agreement.
He said the partnership would strengthen Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector by attracting fresh investment, increasing domestic refining capacity, improving the availability of refined petroleum products and boosting investor confidence in the oil and gas industry.
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Okubowei also highlighted the financial strain caused by high petrol prices, saying households and businesses continued to struggle with rising fuel costs.
He expressed confidence that fuel prices would ease once the Chinese partners begin full operations at the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries, arguing that increased local refining capacity and greater competition would help lower prices.
“Healthy competition remains the most effective way to ensure fair pricing in the downstream petroleum sector,” he said.
Nigeria has long relied on imported refined fuel despite being Africa’s largest crude oil producer, with repeated delays to the rehabilitation of its state-owned refineries contributing to supply constraints and higher fuel costs.
