At least N3.8 trillion has been put into the four petrochemical refineries in Nigeria, which have been moribund, even as concerns heighten over the country’s continuous importation of refined petroleum products, despite investment in the refineries. According to records, about N1.47trn was spent by the federal government in maintaining, revamping and running its four moribund refineries between 2015 and 2020. In spite of this huge sum, the government has approved a fresh $5.74billion (about N2.35trn) for the rehabilitation of the Port-Harcourt (old and new), Warri and Kaduna refineries, and for taking some shares in the Dangote Refinery project. However, these approvals to spend
nearly twice of what had been spent on the refineries in the past five years on rehabilitation have not gone well with experts in the oil and gas industry as they question the refineries’ viability and extent of the impact on ordinary Nigerians.
