Reps urge FG to integrate artisanal refiners into mainstream petroleum sector

The House of Representatives has urged the federal government to integrate artisanal petroleum refiners into the mainstream of the midstream sector.

The Green Chamber called on the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to study and establish a regulatory framework to integrate artisanal refiners into the formal crude oil production value chain.

This resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by the Deputy Minority Whip, George Ozodinobi (LP, Abia), during Thursday’s plenary session.

Oil theft

Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector has long been plagued by the activities of artisanal operators and criminals involved in oil bunkering in the oil-producing Niger Delta region of the country.

In the absence of effective action, the illegal business of oil theft has steadily grown in Nigeria. Criminal syndicates tap pipelines and other infrastructure in the Niger Delta to access the oil.

The Nigerian government has attributed its low output to large-scale theft of crude and related pipeline sabotage. This damage has reduced exports, forced some companies to shut down production, and undermined the country’s fiscal stability.

Some of this crude is refined using rudimentary tools and equipment. These local refining activities have been blamed for pollution in the Niger Delta region and incidents of fire disasters.

The Nigerian government’s response has primarily been military attacks on some of the oil sites. However, last year, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources set up a Technical Committee to explore ways to integrate Artisanal Oil Refiners (Domestic Refiners) into mainstream crude oil refining.

The motion

Moving the motion, Mr Ozodinobi criticised the government for its failure to harness the potential of artisanal refiners, stating that the Nigerian constitution mandates the government to harness the nation’s resources.

“Lives and revenues have been lost due to the government’s inability to recognise, regulate, and control artisanal refining of petroleum products, which has been prevalent in the Niger Delta region for decades,” he said.

The lawmaker lamented the government’s failure to utilise revenue from the oil sector to develop the country. He noted that artisanal refiners could aid the sector, urging the government to stop demonising them.

“After seven decades of massive devastation and environmental degradation of the Niger Delta and its ecosystem, policymakers are still oblivious to the urgent need to encourage artisanal refining and lay a foundation for local technology that could lift us from energy poverty.

“The demonisation of indigenous artisanal refiners as ‘oil thieves’ and the deployment of the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies to destroy artisanal refineries in an unprofessional manner further degrades the environment, which sustains the energy needs of communities in the Niger Delta,” he said.

The motion was adopted without debate, and the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu, mandated the Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream, Upstream, and Midstream) and Local Content to ensure compliance and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.