PENGASSAN, NUPENG Reject Planned Privatisation Of Refineries

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and its counterpart, the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) have staged a joint protest at the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) Alesa Eleme over the planned privatisation of the nation’s four refineries.

In an interview with The Tide, the state chairman of PENGASSAN, Comrade Fidelis  Ighodaye who led the protest said government cannot privatise the refineries without proper maintenance of the refineries and consideration of the labour-related issues.

Ighodaye said government should ensure the routine maintenance of facilities to make it possible for the refinery to work up to 60 per cent capacity.

He said with the routine maintenance, the refinery can generate employment for the teeming unemployed youths.

The union leader urged the federal government to immediately begin the turn around maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery without delay to ensure efficient production.

He said, “we need crude for the refinery to begin production as presently the refinery has no crude to begin production now.”

Also speaking to The Tide, the state chairman, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Chika Onuegbu, said the unions in the oil and gas sector are against the planned privatization of the nation’s refineries.

He said the leadership of the two industrial unions has advised the federal government that with regards to the privatization of the existing refineries the government should adopt a modified model tailored towards the NLNG model.

He said the NLNG model envisioned that National Oil Company (NOC) should hold substantial minority shares, core investors and local participation having a working majority shares, staff and staff unions, PENGASSAN and NUPENG holding minority shares.

He said refineries should be stand-alone entities independent of the National Oil Companies with autonomous management.

The labour leader said presently government had granted license to 32 private oil companies and therefore incentives should be granted them for the development of private refineries  out right privatization.

He urged the government to tackle seriously the issue of pipeline vandalisation, stressing that pipeline  vandalisation has actually led to a situation where the nation’s refineries cannot effectively operate at optimal level of capacity.

He said the leadership of the PENGASSAN will thoroughly deliberate over the issue of the Refineries privatization at the NEC meeting in Calabar, Cross River State on Sunday, December 15.

Onuegbu said, TUC was in support of the joint unions’ protest, adding that the unions are not in support of the outright sale of the refineries through privatisation.

However, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison Madueke had on Novemeber 18, announced that the four ailing refineries would be privatized by the first quarter of 2014.

After this announcement the unions have urged the federal government to review its decision to sell the refineries .