Nigeria to start refinery sale in Q1 2014: minister

摘要

Vienna—Nigeria’s oil minister Diezani Alison- Madueke said on Wednesday it was “high time” the country sold off its four ailing refineries and that the process would begin during the first quarter of next year. Nigeria’s oil unions have warned the government not to privatize the refineries, saying those who built the plants should instead be ordered to return to upgrade them. Alison-Madueke, speaking in Vienna ahead of an OPEC meeting, said the private sector would be better placed to bring the four plants—two at Port Harcourt and the Kaduna and Warri refineries—up to standard. “We intend to get the ball rolling in the first quarter of next year,” she said. “I think it’s high time we get that major infrastructure in the oil and gas sector into private hands to make it more efficient.”