DPR wants stakeholders to invest on small refineries

Abuja – The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Thursday urged stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to invest on small size refineries to enhance national refining capacity.

 The DPR Deputy Director, Engineering and Standard, Mr Alfred Ohiani, gave the advice at a sensitisation Roadshow on Modular Refinery Initiative in Nigeria in Abuja.

According to him, modular refinery is mini or small size refineries that are able to handle or have refining capacity between 10,000 and 30,000 barrels per day.

 He said it had a small footprint and the relatively low technology involvement makes it easy and inexpensive to operate.

“Nigeria has a total refining capacity of 445,000 barrels per day that is why it imports petroleum product to meet users’ demand,’’ he said.

Ohiani, who said Nigeria needed a total refining capacity of two million barrels per day, said Dangote Group of companies was building a modern refinery that would have a total refining capacity of 500,000 barrels.

 He said the modular refinery initiative was to encourage the investors to build small size refineries in every part of the country, to meet national refining capacity of two million barrels per day.

The DPR deputy director said it was imperative for investors to site modular refineries where crude oil could be easily transported for processing.

“We are not saying you should site refineries only in Niger Delta, you can site them in the north and source for crude oil in neighbouring countries,’’ he said.

Ohiani, who said the DPR was saddled with the mandate of licensing process and approval, said the licence fee was 50,000 U.S dollar. He said the processes through which the modular refinery could be established was between 18 and 24 months.

Ohiani stressed the need for investors who were interested in modular refinery investment to involve the hosting communities in the business to prevent pipeline vandalism.

Mr Nnamdi Ejiogu, the Managing Director, Stella Resources Energy Ltd., in Warri, who commended the DPR initiative, urged the Federal Government to make Nigeria Content fund accessible to investors.

He said this was because modular refinery was capital intensive. (NAN)