Blending crude, a global best practice – Analyst
Development communications specialist, Dr. Lemmy Ughegbe has said that blending is not a bad practice in the production of petroleum products.
Dr. Ughegbe, who said this during an appearance on the TVC Business programme, also said blending in the petroleum sector is a global best practice.
According to him, blending is the bringing together of elements in order to form a product that would be at an improved level.
He said, “So, the volatility of compounds of elements is such that you need to actually have a blend of these components in order to have a fine product at the end.
“There is nobody that just gets crude and you produce the product. Everybody goes through the process of mixing chemicals ultimately, in order to get the best standard for consumers. It’s a global best practice.”
Speaking on the issue of pricing, Dr. Ughegbe, who is also the Executive Director of Make the Difference Initiative, noted that only competition can drive the price of the products in the country.
He said that the value of the exchange and the country’s ability to produce what it consumes will ultimately determine the pump price.
“If we are able to take care of local production, it is possible that the pricing can be affected. If we are able to produce more than enough and we are able to export, it is possible that the government through its policy can look at a way to cushion the costs.
“The only way it can be subsidized is if all the refineries are producing at full capacity. Then of course, we have a lot of other players coming into the industry.
“There will be healthy competition and when there is healthy competition it is normal, it is natural that the pricing will go down. As it is at the moment, we are in dire straits,” he added.
While commending the NNPC Ltd for the courage to be transparent in its activities, the communications specialist advised Nigeria to resist the urge to always criticise without knowledge.
“Situations where you have for instance, the image maker of NNPCL open enough to disclose that they are in a situation like that. The moment we think that at every point in time, when we should count our gains, count our progress, and we think that the best thing to do is to beat down the system by being overly critical, we end up discouraging people from full disclosure.
“The NNPCL has disclosed as overly as it can that blending is done and the process is open to improvement. Let’s not sound like it’s something that was manufactured by the system. Blending is a normal process in getting the best product into the market,” he further said.
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