Nigeria would stop importing petroleum products, according to a projection made by the Federal Government on Monday, by the first quarter of 2024.

Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, noted that by the first quarter of 2024 the rehabilitation of the Port-Harcourt refinery would be partly completed while the 650,000 barrel per day (bpd) capacity Dangote Refinery would also be on stream.

The Minister stated this at the resumption of the “president Muhammadu Buhari Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)” organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture.

Sylva added that “the Dangote Refinery, the largest single-train refinery in the world with an investment of over 25 billion US dollars would also be on stream before the end of 2023 in addition to several modular refineries projects in the country.

He, therefore, assured that with the combined production of the Port-Harcourt refinery, Dangote refinery and modular refineries, Nigeria would end the importation of petroleum products into the country.

The minister disclosed that to ensure local supply of the productions by the private refineries the federal government deliberately took a 20 per cent equity stake in the Dangote Refinery.”