The federal government says it has concluded a plan to hold a national conference on integrating artisanal/modular petroleum refinery operations to improve the capacity of the products and bring down prices of petroleum products.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Ita Enang, disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.

In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Presidency will hold the conference on March 16 and 17.

Mr. Enang noted that the summit’s outcome would help to crash the country’s prices of petroleum products.

He added that the conference aimed to integrate local refining capacity into refining petroleum products such as petrol, kerosene, diesel, and other petrochemical products.

According to him, the conference will mobilise all Nigerian assets, including technologists, engineers, and other relevant disciplines, including those producing petroleum products at the creeks.

He said, “As the cost of crude goes higher, the price of refined petroleum products goes higher, but if we refine these petroleum products in Nigeria, the cost will be very low.

“The intendment of the conference is to mobilise these resources so that we can bring the prices of refined petroleum products down to below N100 per litre.”

Mr. Enang further said the conference would help protect the environment, explaining that the conference will not legitimise illegal mining but integrate the operators into the legitimate refining process.

He also said the urgency of holding the conference was because the National Assembly had promised to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill by April.

“Most of the issues that will be addressed at the conference are such issues that will require legislation, so any agreement that will be reached which requires legislation will be accommodated in the PIB,” he disclosed.