The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has endorsed plans to phase out subsidies of fuel at the pump from 2012. The company, which manages Nigeria’s four refineries, said that the entire value chain in crude refining should be maximised before exporting crude oil.
In an interview with local media, Levi Ajuonuma, Group General Manager of Public Affairs, criticised the opposition of organised labour to the plan, saying that the benefits of deregulation had not been considered. He added that, while fuel prices would initially increase, the move would encourage competition by incentivising investment in the sector, thus controlling prices naturally.
“Nobody likes change either in the family or the social gathering. People will kick against it even though it will benefit them at the end of it,” he said. "The deregulation exercise this time around will succeed because it is people oriented; President Goodluck Jonathan is first of all laying emphasis on the Nigerian masses,” insisted Ajuonuma, saying that deregulation had worked for other sectors in the economy too. “We have testimonies of the telecom, aviation and even the media sectors of the country. Now, you do not need to wait for Daily Times or the NTA to know what is on the news, there are private media outfits all over the country, same goes for the aviation and telecoms. The process is the same and will not change."
Ajuonuma added that the benefits of deregulation in the sector would trickle down to the population quite quickly. “In less than 18 months, we will see the differences because there is a new technology now called modular refining which allows you to refine in batches without having to build a big refinery, let us put these people managing the refineries to a test and they will sink or swim,” he said.
PetrolWorld 14102011
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