Refineries breakdown: Sabotage theory

I have been contemplating on the possible reasons for the perennial breakdown of our refineries, four in number, including the highly rated (World Bank Report) New Port Harcourt refinery (The Fourth), which is less than 10 years of full operation.

And the experts say that most refineries could operate for at least some 25 years.
I become more puzzled because in 1984 to 1986 we were not faced with this clearly national tragedy of profound dimension and grave consequences.

One easily visible consequence of the refineries said “Breakdowns” is fuel shortage or fuel crisis.

Some official reasons (some ludicrous) given to explain off this chronic sickness include: Sallah fasting, turn-around maintenance, lack of spare parts.  The so-called “Sallah” excuse can easily be dismissed as most ludicrous.

For the Turn-Around-Maintenance, I find this reason also not totally acceptable. Why should all the four refineries be involved at the same time? It is like a family with four vehicles sending all to the mechanic for servicing simultaneously.

The lack of spare parts reason is tied to the unavailability of funds (foreign exchange). This is also puzzling in some ways. Why should the government and the Central Bank cherish the perverse fancy of committing “suicide”? Because the escalation of fuel shortage could touch off civil unrest and socio-political conflagration.

In any case, the NNPC has been reported to be literally swimming in money. The Newswatch of July 15, 1996, page 13, disclosed that the least staff of the NNPC i.e. junior cadre staff (gardeners, cleaners, drivers, etc) eam “over N200,000.00 per annum.” I was staggered by this disclosure, If in fact it is correct. A professor’s salary is N51, 000.00 per annum.

During my days as Oil Minister (1984-86), ministers’ salary was less than N20,000.00 (Twenty Thousand Naira) per annum. And our (minister) non-accountable “pocket money” was N200,00. (Two Hundred Naira) per month. This was later increased to N2500.00; and we warmly expressed our gratitude to the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief, General Buhari.

Yet, we worked hard, without frowns, to serve the fatherland. And we registered, severally and collectively, positive results.

With the background of all the above, I wish to proffer what I call “The Sabotage Theory” to explain these frequent so-called “break-downs” of our refineries.

The theory is planked on the following:

(i)    With some BUSINESSMEN, LOCAL and their FOREIGN partners making HUGE “profits” (cost and commissions) from FUEL IMPORTS it is evidently not in the interest of these entrepreneurs for the refineries to work. The fuel import bills are as follows:

(a) 1995: $800 million

(b) 1996 (January to June): $451 million (By September 1996 $600 million)

© For EACH of the 82 fuel cargoes waiting to berth and off-load, we spend $600,000 as commissions to agents (Nigerian and Foreign); $2 million for demurrage daily for the vessels off-shore.

I can find nothing better to described this than VERITABLE INSANITY.

(ii)    Whenever there is to be “breakdown,” it is almost always targeted at the CRITICAL parts of the refineries, such as, the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units (FCCU), the Cool Ventilation Plant, the Base Oil Section, Shutdown of Power (a situation described as “unusual since refineries are self-sufficient in Power Supply). The Newswatch magazine of July 15, 1996, “Nigeria’s Troubled Refineries” Page 9 aptly described these “spate of misfortunes.”

(iii)     The NNPC self-defence for swapping otherwise locally refineable crude oil for oversea refined products is also essentially lame.

The question is for how long can this be allowed to go on? And we are talking of several hundreds of millions of dollars of the overall national revenue. The fact that the swapping of crude for imported products is now the modus operandi, with clearly no visible evidence of halting it, further buttresses my Sabotage Theory.

The question that demands a very urgent answer is, WHO ARE THESE LUCKY IMPORTERS OF REFINED PRODUCTS into the country? If there is nothing fishy in the messy oil waters; NNPC should publish the FULL list of these importers and their agents; and how much is involved with each one of them.  Transparent accountability is sine qua non to good stewardship.

On March 20, 1995 at the swearing-in of ministers, the Head of State warned inter alia: “Your watchword must be prudence and accountability in the discharge of your duties.” The nation holds the managers of our most vital economic commodity, crude oil, to this. We are watching, and waiting.

David-West, former Petroleum Minister, first published this piece in 1996