Nigeria, a prominent African oil producer, has been identified by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as its member with the lowest refining capacity, averaging approximately 10,600 barrels per day (bpd) over a five-year period.
In 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, Nigeria refined an equivalent of 33,000 bpd, 8,000 bpd, 1,000 bpd, 5,000 bpd, and 6,000 bpd, respectively, according to OPEC’s Annual Statistical Bulletin for 2023.
Conversely, Saudi Arabia emerged as the leading OPEC member in terms of refining capacity, averaging 2.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) during the same period.
Specifically, Saudi Arabia refined 2.8 mb/d, 2.6 mb/d, 2.3 mb/d, 2.5 mb/d, and 2.9 mb/d in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively.
Saudi Arabia has five operational refineries, while Nigeria has four non-functional state-owned refineries and some privately owned facilities.
Nigeria has continued to import petroleum products from the global market due to inconsistent policies, a lack of long-term funding, difficulties in sourcing foreign exchange and feedstock for new refineries, and other factors.
Experts have cited these challenges, along with a lack of sustainable crude oil supply guarantees and lawlessness in the country, as deterrents for investors looking to build refineries in Nigeria.
Despite these hurdles, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed optimism during an inspection of the Port Harcourt Refining Company that fuel importation in Nigeria would cease by 2024, with refineries expected to come online and operate more efficiently in the near future.