Abuja, Oct. 31, 2024 – The House of Representatives on Thursday advised the Federal Government to integrate artisanal refiners in the country in the production of petroleum products.
The House gave the advice after adopting a motion on the “Need to reform and regulate Nigerian petroleum production activities to integrate artisanal refiners in the production value chain”, moved by the House Deputy Minority Whip, Mr George Ozodinobi.
Ozodinobi said there was the need for the country to use its resources to promote its prosperity.
He said government should accord recognition to local artisanal in the production of refined petroleum products, a practice which he said, had been going on in the Niger Delta for long.
Ozodinobi said the Federal Government had in 2016 proposed the integration of artisanal refiners into mainstream operations in the oil and gas sector to promote the inclusion of more local content in the industry and advance the use of home-grown technology in the refining of petroleum products in the region.
He, however, expressed regret that after seven decades of massive devastation and environmental degradation of the Niger Delta with its ecosystem, policymakers were still oblivious to the crucial need to encourage artisanal refining and lay a foundation for the local technology that would salvage Nigeria from its energy poverty.
Ozodinobi said the deployment of the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies to destroy artisanal refineries had further degraded the environment.
He said the neglect of local refiners also left Nigeria with four moribund refineries for decades and urged Nigeria to be committed to the promotion of indigenous technology.
After a voice vote, Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker, who presided over the plenary session, urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission to study and articulate a regulatory legal framework to integrate artisanal refiners into the formal crude oil production value chain.
The House also mandated its Committees on Petroleum Resources-Downstream, Upstream, and Midstream as well as Local Content to ensure compliance and report within four weeks for further legislative action. (GBN)
