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| Petroleum minister, Madueke |
The Bureau of Public Enterprises' director general Benjamin Dikki said in a statement that the sale of the refineries -- two in Port Harcourt, and one each in Kaduna and Warri -- would commence after the government concludes talks with labor unions to gain their backing.
"The labor unions have expressed their willingness to dialogue with government to develop appropriate business models for the refineries.
This will be followed up and should lead to the commencement of the privatization process in 2014," Dikki said.
A steering committee headed by the oil minister that was set up last December by the BPE will shortly start work to develop an appropriate framework for privatization that is acceptable to all stakeholders, Dikki
added.
Nigeria's latest attempt at selling its ailing refineries was first announced last November by Alison-Madueke and had been expected to start this month.
But following strike threats by the country's two powerful oil workers unions, the white collar Pengassan and its junior counterpart Nupeng, the government shelved the plan.
Alison-Madueke said last week that while the government still believes in handing over the refineries to private sector investors, as well as deregulating the country's downstream oil sector to end costly fuel subsidies, the strong union opposition had forced the government to drop the policy.
The unions said last December that rather than outright sale, they would favor a model where the government enters into partnership deals with core investors for the management of the refineries, citing the equity structure adopted at Nigeria LNG Limited, owner of the six-train Bonny LNG plant, where Nigeria partners foreign oil companies Shell, Eni and Total.
Nigeria's four refineries, with combined nameplate of 445,000 b/d, have been plagued by ageing infrastructure and poor maintenance forcing Africa's top crude producer to import more than 80% of its fuel needs and paying huge amounts in subsidies.
A steering committee headed by the oil minister that was set up last December by the BPE will shortly start work to develop an appropriate framework for privatization that is acceptable to all stakeholders, Dikki
added.
Nigeria's latest attempt at selling its ailing refineries was first announced last November by Alison-Madueke and had been expected to start this month.
But following strike threats by the country's two powerful oil workers unions, the white collar Pengassan and its junior counterpart Nupeng, the government shelved the plan.
Alison-Madueke said last week that while the government still believes in handing over the refineries to private sector investors, as well as deregulating the country's downstream oil sector to end costly fuel subsidies, the strong union opposition had forced the government to drop the policy.
The unions said last December that rather than outright sale, they would favor a model where the government enters into partnership deals with core investors for the management of the refineries, citing the equity structure adopted at Nigeria LNG Limited, owner of the six-train Bonny LNG plant, where Nigeria partners foreign oil companies Shell, Eni and Total.
Nigeria's four refineries, with combined nameplate of 445,000 b/d, have been plagued by ageing infrastructure and poor maintenance forcing Africa's top crude producer to import more than 80% of its fuel needs and paying huge amounts in subsidies.
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