Despite reservations expressed by industry analysts, the federal government is diligently pursuing a refinery rehabilitation deal with Saudi Arabia. The agreements involve Saudi officials pledging to fix Nigeria’s four non-functional oil refineries, a critical move as the country has been forced to import all its fuel due to the refineries’ prolonged inactivity.
The government aims to finalize the details of the deal with Saudi Arabia within six months, raising doubts among some industry experts about the positive outcome. Emmanuel Afimia, founder of Enermics, a Lagos-based oil and gas consulting firm, expressed skepticism, emphasizing the need to wait for the technical details before forming a definitive opinion.
“This administration is showing a reasonable level of political will to make things happen. I’ll most definitely like to wait until the technical details of this deal come out, but from where I’m looking at it, I don’t think it’s gonna be possible,” Afimia remarked, as reported by VOA.
If successfully implemented, the refinery rehabilitation could enable Nigeria to process approximately 450,000 barrels of crude oil into fuel daily, reducing dependence on imports.
Deals with Saudi Arabia, made on the sidelines of the inaugural Saudi-Africa summit in Riyadh, encompassed not only refinery rehabilitation but also a commitment to deposit substantial foreign exchange to bolster Nigeria’s diminishing reserves.
Faith Nwadishi, the executive director of the Center for Transparency Advocacy in Abuja, welcomed the Saudi deal, citing its potential to address subsidy conflicts and enhance domestic fuel production. However, she emphasized the need for careful scrutiny and transparency in evaluating the terms of the agreement.
“What are the terms? Will the government be willing to make these terms available to Nigerians so that we can really look and be able to assess them very objectively? Right now, it’s not very clear what the terms are,” Nwadishi remarked, highlighting the importance of public scrutiny in ensuring the agreement serves Nigeria’s best interests.
As President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms aim to attract investments and decrease debt, the success of this refinery rehabilitation deal with Saudi Arabia holds significance for Nigeria’s economic trajectory.