By Teddy Nwanunobi
The Federal Government is looking to reposition Nigeria’s local petroleum refining by laying more emphasis on bringing more modular refineries into production to boost the country’s in-country refining capacity.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said local production of crude oil in the country is on course, as four of such facilities are already producing.
The ones that have come on stream are: Waltersmith Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited (with 5,000 barrels per day – bpd), OPAC Refineries, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources (Train 3), Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited, and Lowrie Refinery Limited.
Other licensed refineries include: Excel Refinery Limited in Bayelsa State, Conodit Refinery Nigeria Limited, Duport Midstream, Duport Midstream in Delta State, Clairgold Oil & Gas Engineering Limited, Ogini Refinery Limited, Etopo Energy Plc and Gasoline Associates International Limited.
Others are: NPDC/ND WESTERN OML 34 JV, Frao Oil Nigeria Limited, Kingdom Global Trading Petroleum & Gas Nig. Ltd. Resource Petroleum & Petrochemicals International Incorporated, Gazingstock Petroleum Company Limited and Amakpe International Refineries Limited.
The rest are: Atlantic International Refineries and Petrochemical Limited, Azikel Petroleum Limited, Allegiance Energy and Power Limited, Alexis Refinery Limited and Dangote Oil Refinery Company.
Of the 23 refineries, Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical company has completed construction, and has been commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari, OPAC refinery has completed Construction and Plant at commissioning stage, while Niger Delta Petroleum Resources has also completed construction and commissioning ongoing.
Also, the Dangote oil refinery company plant overall installation has gone above 80.3 per cent, and Edo Refining and Petrochemical Company has completed construction, and plant at commissioning stage, the Minister said.
He said that the Federal Government had licensed a good number of modular refineries, adding that some of them had already started operating effectively.
“Modular refineries, we have licensed quite a bit. I am not in a position to give you an exact figure now, but I know that (a) few of these refineries are under construction, and very soon, we will be commissioned. You know that last year, we commissioned the Waltersmith, which is functioning well, and since then, I have also laid the foundation stone for Atlantic Refinery, and there is Niger Delta own that is ongoing, one almost ready to be commissioned in Port Harcourt, and there are quite a few. That programme is on course,” he said.
The Minister said that the Waltersmith Petrochemical Refining Company is currently producing very comfortably, and had no problems.
“The Atlantic is not finished yet, they are very much on course to finish construction by (the) first quarter of next year and there are others that are ongoing,” he said.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) said that the Federal Government had, as at March 2021, licensed about 23 refineries in the country.
Modular refinery generally refers to a simple, or complex refinery whose parts are fabricated or constructed in several component parts or units called modules.
These modules can then be assembled easily to form the plant.
Furthermore, they can be transported in modules across distances and put together at the location desired.