The Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to urgently strengthen the domestic refining industry and reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
The association made the call in a position paper titled “Position Paper on the Urgent Need for Strategic Government Intervention to Strengthen Nigeria’s Domestic Refining Industry,” while citing the recent intervention by United States President Donald Trump in the American refining sector as a lesson for Nigeria.
It argued that Nigeria had an even stronger case for government intervention because local refinery operators faced foreign-exchange pressures, high borrowing costs, limited access to long-tenor financing, crude supply challenges, inadequate infrastructure, and high logistics costs.
“It is sound industrial policy. It is an energy-security policy. And ultimately, it is economic policy,” the association stated.
The group expressed concern that Nigeria, despite being one of Africa’s largest crude oil producers, continued to experience difficulties in supplying crude to domestic refineries on commercially workable terms.
