Dead NNPCL Refineries perform at 0% Capacity with over N69Billion Salaries

Nigerians and Key stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector are getting worried over the retention of a large number of workers at the near- moribund local refineries.

There have been calls in recent times that despite paucity of funds to drive economic growth government is paying for redundancy as local refineries keeping these workers are not functional.

Nigeria’s four refineries have about 1,586 new staff, paying salaries, wages and other benefits which in the view of some people are unproductive workers and their pay is calculated to the tune of N69 billion.

According to an audited statements of the NNPC, Ltd, two plants located in Port Harcourt with an installed capacity of 210,000 barrels a day, bpd employed 487 new staff members in 2020, Kaduna refinery with an installed capacity 110,000 of barrels per day (bpd) employed 655 new staffs, while the Warri refinery with an installed capacity of 125,000 bpd employed 444 new staffs within the same period.

According the report, out of the 487 staff members employed in Port Harcourt refinery, 430 were senior and management staff, amounting to 88.2 per cent with huge financial implications while only 57 were junior staff members.

The audited report showed the Port Harcourt refinery paid the 487 new workers N3.93 billion annually, indicating that each of them takes an average of N8.072 million annually or N672, 713 monthly.

Out of 675 staff engaged by the refinery in 2019, the financial statement showed 656 were management and senior staff, representing 97 per cent of the total, with huge financial implications.

In Kaduna refinery, the management employed 655 new staff which comprised 501 new staff in the operations department and 154 new administrative staff.

Despite generating zero revenue, total pay received by the staff of Kaduna refinery within 2020 also amounted to N26 billion implying that the NNPC sought monies from outside the refinery to pay staff salaries.

For the Warri Refinery, its audited account by Oguobi & Co and Ijebor+Ijebor, Chartered Accountants, showed the organisation employed an average of 444 new employees in 2020. The new employee comprises 80 services workers and 364 operational staff.

About N20.5 billion were spent on direct labour cost, indirect labour cost and staff welfare cost within the same period.

Observers posits hat the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited is wasting scarce resources to retain workers at the country’s near moribund refineries.

However, top industry experts have said that the workers have over time acquired technical skills to continue operating the refineries after completion of their overhauling.

Nigeria holds the 10th largest oil reserves in the world of 37 billion barrels and imports refined petrol while its weak refineries perform less than 0 per cent of their capacity