Tonye Cole: Nigerian Refineries Will Struggle to Sell Fuel Below N700 Per Litre
Refinery Revival Faces Hurdles in Lowering Fuel Prices, Says Former Governorship Candidate
A former governorship candidate in Rivers State, Pastor Tonye Cole, has stated that Nigerian refineries cannot sell a litre of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) for N700 or below at this point.
Cole made this assertion during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, just hours after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announced that the Port Harcourt refinery has commenced the refining of crude oil.
The NNPC said the plant will begin operations at 60 percent capacity, with a production of 60,000 barrels per day. The NNPCL also disclosed that the Warri Refinery will soon commence petroleum product production.
Despite these developments, the Rivers-born business mogul and two-time governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, said there were other components involved, particularly the importation of machinery, that are affecting the pricing.
“The price being sold in Nigeria is lower than what an imported cargo would land at,” Tonye Cole said. “As a result of that, most people are not bothered to import. So, Nigerians are already benefiting from that. Secondly, the volume of consumption in Nigeria has dropped, as a result of that, the pressure you used to have on foreign exchange has gone down because we’re no longer importing that much.”
However, on the question of why the product is not being sold below N700, Cole stated, “I don’t think we’ll get it [N700]. There are certain things you still need to deal with. There are many components you’re still bringing in. All the things that were refurbished at the refinery were refurbished with products and machineries brought in from outside the country. So we still have a huge foreign exchange component we have to deal with.”
