The threat by oil workers to tamper with the gas and crude oil supply infrastructure in order to halt service to Dangote Refinery may trigger another collapse of the national grid, the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has warned.
NISO is the agency established by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to manage Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure, including the national grid and the power market.
In a statement on Sunday, the System Operator expressed concern over the raging dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Dangote Refinery, which resulted in directives by the oil workers to its members to suspend the supply of crude oil and natural gas to the company.
Drawing attention to the potential of the grave implications of the directive by the oil workers, NISO said the impact of the action may throw the entire country into darkness as the nation’s power sector relies on natural gas.
“The national grid relies heavily on gas-fired generation of electricity, and any sustained disruption in gas supply would constrain the electricity generation capacity, affect system operations and undermine the stability and reliability of electricity supply across the country,” NISO warned.
While NISO said it was considering measures to mitigate total grid collapse, it urge all parties involved in the dispute to embrace dialogue and lawful mechanisms of dispute resolution in the overall interest of the economy and the wellbeing of Nigerians at large.
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring a secure and reliable operation of the national grid, adding that it would continue to support wider efforts aimed at safeguarding energy security in the country.
NISO’s statement is coming on the heels of a similar warning by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) which urged all parties in the dispute to embrace dialogue and find a common ground to resolve the dispute in the overall interest of the country.
The Commission Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe said there was need for Dangote Refinery and the oil workers to find an amicable resolution of their differences to avoid the disruption of energy supply across the country.
“Regardless of the fact that the issues involved are purely midstream and downstream affairs, our take as the regulatory authority in the upstream sector of the petroleum industry is that all parties should refrain from what will cause a disruption in energy supply in the country.
“We believe that the issues involved are issues that parties can actually sit down, discuss, and reach an amicable solution for the good of the country,” Komolafe said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has assured that steps were being taken to resolve all outstanding issues affecting energy security, protection of consumers, and maintenance of stability in the domestic supply of petroleum products.
The Minister who spoke during the meeting of the Steering Committee on Domestic Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Local Currency Initiative said the government was committed to addressing with urgency and in good faith the dispute between the PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery.
He said the meeting, which was convened to review developments in the downstream oil sector of the economy, also looked at the purported suspension of the Naira-for-crude oil arrangement by the Dangote Refinery, and the concerns raised by PENGASSAN regarding the Dangote Refinery.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, who also chairs the Technical Committee; the representatives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd., Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Afreximbank, and the Dangote Refinery.
