Spread the word
The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) Monday vowed to ensure the protection of local refineries to encourage more investments in the sector.
Chairman of the committee, Ikenga Ugochinyere gave the assurance during a technical briefing to mark the winding down of its organised 2026 Petroleum Downstream Week in Abuja on Monday.
The committee also commended the federal government’s reforms, which it said had boosted Nigeria’s daily crude oil production in the last three years.
The committee added that the three million barrels per day production target was within reach, and with the sector under the President Tinubu-led government, the leadership of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Nigeria’s quest for energy security is now on the fast lane.
The committee, through Ugochinyere disclosed its inferences from the engagement to include the understanding that “there’s no supply security without pipeline security; that local refining has changed the national equation and that importation must be ‘a supplement for verified shortfall, not a permanent substitute;’ and that domestic crude supply obligation must be enforced, not merely recited.”
The committee also stated that it rejected a World Bank recommendation on import licences, insisting that “Nigeria’s energy policy must be written in Nigeria,” noting that the panel has opened an inquiry into the underpayment for crude by certain companies.
“We will not accept silence as an answer,” Ugochinyere said.
The committee commended chairman of the Dogote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the Initial Public Offer (IPO) of the Dangote Refinery, saying it had brought “fresh momentum” into the downstream market.
Spread the word