Uneasy lull has pervaded the
multi-billion dollar private
refining subsector in Nigeria,
as foreign and local
contractors have dumped
investments in 19 private
medium scale and modular
refineries. New Telegraph
gathered that except the
650,000 barrels per day
capacity Dangote refinery,
investments running in four
private refineries licenses
are faced with lenders
apathy, while 19 mini or
modular refinery licenses in
private hands have been
abandoned.
These licenses were,
according to reports, issued
for private refineries by the
government of former
President Olusegun
Obasanjo and his
predecessors. While
Obasanjo issued 18 licenses,
others reportedly gave out
seven licenses for medium
scale and modular refineries
between 2005 and 2015.
Checks by this newspaper
showed that out of a total of
25 licenses, only six have
signs of investments, while
those in possession of the
remaining licenses have
begun to market it to win
big-time investors.
The licenses with
considerable investments
are the Niger Delta Petroleum
Resources, Ogbelle, River
State, with the capacity to
produce 1,000 bpsd capacity,
which is operational, while
Amakpe International
Refinery, Eket, Akwa Ibom
State, Resource Petroleum &
Petrochemical Incorporated,
Ibeno, Kainji Resources
Limited, and Omega Butler
Refineries are yet to start
refining.
Amakpe International
Refinery has the capacity to
process 12,000 barrel per
day of Qua Iboe crude into
gasoline, diesel, naphtha and
fuel oil. Another is the $116
million modular refinery
located at Tomaro Island
Port, off Takwa Bay, Lagos,
by Integrated Oil and Gas
Limited, which is expected to
come on stream before the
end of 2016.
“Those with idle licenses are
using different upstream and
downstream conferences all
over the world chasing new
buyers or investors, as the
case may be, for the
licenses. It is clearer to
many now that refining
investments are, for now,
less lucrative, again, for
brief case investors – some
of who got the licenses,” a
top official of the Department
of Petroleum Resources (DPR)
told this newspaper.
Aside from recession and the
crash in demand for refined
products in Nigeria, the
Dangote refinery, which is
expected to flood Nigeria
with products, is also
targeting the control of
market share in West Africa
and beyond. These, further
checks showed, have also
caused setback for refinery
co-location contracts and
made breaking of even in
refining business tough for
small scale investors.
The Department of Petroleum
Resources (DPR), which
statutorily authorised to
issue licences for refinery
operations in the country,
recently said that it had
issued 21 licences to
investors to establish new
refineries. Four investors
had earlier been issued
licences to construct new
plants in the country and the
DPR confirmed that there are
currently 25 private refinery
licences granted to
companies with 21 in the
Licence to Establish (LTE)
category, while four are in
the Approval to Construct
(ATC) category.

mamabomboy:
I swear, by 2019 poverty will force gbawe, passingshot and co to get on their knees and beg Jonathan to consider running for office

seunmsg:


How many private refineries were built during the Jonathan administration?