OPEC Urges Nigeria to End Crude Exports, Focus on Local Refining and Value Creation
The Chairman of the OPEC Board of Governors for 2025, Adeyemi-Bero, has called on Nigerian oil producers to stop the long-standing practice of exporting crude oil and focus on domestic refining and industrial value creation. Speaking at the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) Pre-Conference Workshop in Lagos, the CEO of First Exploration & Petroleum Development Company stressed that Nigeria must build an economy that benefits directly from its resources rather than enriching foreign refiners.
Adeyemi-Bero noted that for decades, Nigeria had simply extracted oil and shipped it abroad, leaving others to profit from processing and value addition. “We’ve been an oil and gas exporting country for 40 or 50 years,” he said. “They are businesses looking for feedstock for their industrialisation. If you give it to them, they’ll still take it.” He urged the country to break free from this cycle by refining and utilising its crude domestically to drive industrial growth.
Citing the Dangote Refinery as a transformative project, Adeyemi-Bero explained that local production has already begun to stabilize the naira and boost gross domestic product (GDP). “If the Dangote refinery didn’t exist, the government might have had to restore fuel subsidies,” he said. “The impact of that refinery on foreign exchange and GDP is significant. Imagine if this had happened 50 years ago.” He emphasized that local refining is crucial to sustaining the nation’s economy and reducing dependency on imported petroleum products.
He also called for innovative trade strategies that would strengthen the naira, suggesting that selling oil in local currency where possible could improve its global value. “The strength of the naira lies in what it commands in trade. The day you can pay for oil in naira because both parties agree, it strengthens the currency,” he stated. Adeyemi-Bero warned that failing to shift from export dependence to value-driven production could undermine Nigeria’s economic future over the next decade.
In his remarks, NAPE President Johnbosco Uche underscored the importance of increasing and sustaining national oil production to achieve the country’s three-million-barrel-per-day target. He said the conference theme, “Revitalising the Nigerian Petroleum Exploration and Production Strategies for Energy Security and Sustainable Development,” reflected the urgency for reform. Both leaders agreed that local innovation, refining, and strategic production are essential for achieving Nigeria’s $1 trillion economy goal and ensuring long-term energy security.
source: Punch