Nigeria's Refining Industry at a Crossroads: CORAN Seeks Presidential Intervention
The Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) has called for an urgent Presidential Refining Industry Roundtable to address challenges facing domestic refining and reduce Nigeria's dependence on imported petroleum products.
CORAN's chairman, Engr. Momoh Jimah Oyarekhua, said the proposed meeting should bring together refinery owners, regulatory bodies, NNPC Limited, crude oil producers, financial institutions, infrastructure investors, and relevant government ministries.
Oyarekhua highlighted Nigeria's structural constraints, including foreign-exchange pressures, high borrowing costs, limited access to long-term financing, crude-feedstock challenges, inadequate infrastructure, and high logistics costs. He emphasized that refineries should be treated as strategic industrial infrastructure rather than merely downstream petroleum businesses.