Chairman of the association, Adetunji Oyebanji made this revelation while speaking at the 18th Aret Adams Lecture on Thursday.
In 2019 alone, he also disclosed, N750bn was spent on subsidy.
According to Oyebanji, the huge amount spent would have been diverted to the economy if refineries in the country were operating at optimal capacity.
“Non-functional refineries cost Nigeria over $13bn in 2019 alone. Nigeria would have imported only 40 percent of what was consumed in 2019, if the refineries were working. Solving this is only possible if full deregulation of the downstream sector is in place,” he said.
“Full deregulation of the downstream sector remains the most glaring boost to potential investors in this space, it will lead to a shift from crude oil production to crude oil full value realisation and engender deliberate investment in domestic refining and refined products distribution, and above all transform the dynamics of the downstream sector from one of ‘net importer’ to one of ‘net exporter’, spurring the growth of the Nigerian economy.”
He therefore called on the Federal government to put in place legislative and commercial framework that will help the market develop.
