Kaduna Refinery TAM to Gulp $20m – NNPC Boss

Amidst apprehension over the proposed deregulation of the oil sector and sale of the nation’s refineries, the Group Managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Mohammed Barkindo has disclosed that on-
going Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the Kaduna Refinery is expected likely to gulp about $20million. Receiving the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Algerian Sonatrac oil company, Mr. Mohammed Meziane, the NNPC boss stated that it was important to keep the refinery in good order in view of its strategic importance to northern states.
According to him, unless the refineries were kept in good working conditions, the nation would continue to import refined petroleum products with the attendant consequences on environment and depletion of scarce foreign exchange.Mr. Meziane was at the NNPC corporate headquarters to fine-tune the Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) soon to be signed by the governments of Nigeria and Algeria on the 4000 kilometres Trans-Sahara Gas pipeline project.  
“I have been briefed by our Group Executive Director in charge of Refineries and Petrochemicals that the Turn- Around Maintenance of Kaduna Refinery is going on and we intend to visit Kaduna to inspect the Turn-Around Maintenance.”It is a very strategic refinery. It is the only refinery we have in the northern part of the country which supplies products to the 19 states of the north. And therefore, it is very important for consumers that this refinery functions very well to produce the products that are required.”
Otherwise, we have to continue to stock products mainly imported, in ports and depots with the attendant risk to the environment and of course, the financial cost and at the same time, ensuring that uniform pricing is guaranteed for the consumers all across the country.