Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has reiterated Federal Government’s resolve to reduce importation of petroleum products from the present 95 per cent to 60 per cent by 2018.
Kachikwu stated this at the Rainoil 20th Anniversary Lecture organised by the company in Lagos on Wednesday.
The theme of the anniversary was: “The Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry: Opportunities, Challenges and Prospects of the Downstream Sector”.
The Minister said that with the proposed construction of modular refineries in the Niger Delta and more investments in the sector, the importation of refined products would be reduced to 60 per cent by 2018.
According to him, the country will start exporting refined products with the commencement of Dangote Refinery in 2019.
“The nation is at the turning point where the downstream industry is more critical than ever and will drive the economy.
“Currently, the NNPC imports over 95 per cent of petroleum products owing to challenges being faced by marketers in accessing Foreign Exchange.
“After 20 years in this industry, I have seen it go through challenges but regardless of all that, we are optimistic that there are a lot of opportunities in the sector,” Ibeh said.
