"By The Power Vested in Me": FG Threatens to Revoke Licenses of New Refineries, Gives Reasons
- The Nigerian government has said they will revoke the licenses of idle refineries
- The Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil) revealed that the refineries also face the problem of crude supply
- Lokpobiri said the Port Harcourt refinery is billed to come onstream by the end of this year
Pascal Oparada has over a decade of experience covering Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investments, and Economy.
The Nigerian government has threatened to revoke the licenses of inactive modular refineries.
The minister of petroleum resources (oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said Nigeria has many modular refineries that have been licensed but face feedstock challenges.
Source: Facebook
Lokpobiri reveals the challenges of modular refineries
He said the lack of feedstock has made the operations of the refineries impossible.
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The minister disclosed this while answering questions from journalists at the end of a three-day ministerial retreat at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.
He revealed that Nigeria needs to produce sufficient crude, adding that even the refineries will have no feedstock.
"So my challenge is to ramp up production so that we can see how we can feed not only the big refineries but also the modular refineries, these are the real employers of labour, and they will do the magic," the oil minister said.
According to the minister, he liberalised licenses and granted approvals within 24 hours to speed up the production of refined products.
FG to hold NNPC responsible for refinery failure
The minister said the easiest way for Nigeria to come out of its petrol crises is to ramp up production. He noted that the midstream and downstream sectors will only succeed if there is sufficient production.
FG to hold NNPC responsible for Nigeria're refineries
The minister also said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) will be held accountable if the nation's refineries fail to meet their deadlines.
Lokpobiri revealed that the government of President Bola Tinubu is committed to rehabilitating the refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri, stressing that the projects are still ongoing.
He said he has gone around the facilities and that the Port Harcourt refinery is in phase three and will be ready this year.
Lokpobiri added:
"For Warri refinery, they said phase 1 will be ready by the end of the year. Phase 2 and 3 in Port Harcourt will be prepared next year, and the Kaduna refinery will be scheduled by the end of next year. That is what they said, and I am holding them accountable to their own words.
"I will be going there in the next few weeks. I go there regularly and sometimes without a schedule so that nobody plans for me. I see what is going on.
Two refineries begin production in Edo.
The development comes as two refineries have commenced production in Edo state.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, earlier revealed that the two new refineries will contribute to Nigeria's 1.5 million barrels of daily refining capacity.
The Edo Refinery and Duport Midstream Refinery are currently refining petrochemical products in the state and will start petrol refining as soon as they receive crude oil supplies.
The Nigerian government recently ordered about 52 oil companies in Nigeria to begin supplying crude to emerging refineries to avoid the embarrassment of imports. At the same time, it is a top oil producer in Africa.
Why Dangote refinery is delaying production as five modular refineries take off
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the failure to supply crude oil to domestic refineries, including the Dangote Refinery, delayed production.
The development comes as the Dangote Refinery failed to meet its October production deadline.
This is the second time the refinery has missed its production date in 2023 since it was commissioned on May 22, 2023.
Source: Legit.ng
