Nigeria has awarded 22 licences for modular refineries with a joint capacities of 1.429 million bpd to private individuals, Sweet Crude news reports.

According to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the government is making moves to boost domestic refining capacity through other alternatives like modular refining, following the inability of the nation’s refineries, with combined capacity of 446,000bpd to meet the daily requirement of 40 million litres per day.

“The Department is in alignment with Government’s aspiration of improving Nigeria’s refining capacity by strengthening its regulatory oversight function of the petroleum sector in Nigeria,” DPR said in a statement.

The company added that there are currently 25 private refinery licences granted to companies, with 21 in the Licence to Establish, LTE category, while four in the Approval to Construct, ATC category. Three of the 25 licenced companies will construct conventional stick-build plants, while 22 will construct modular units with a planned collective refining capacity of 1,429,000 bpd.

“There are three stages of licencing for establishment of private refineries in Nigeria namely; Licence to Establish, LTE, Approval to Construct, ATC, and Licence to Operate, LTO. · DPR granted LTE to 21 companies with a validity period of 18 months in 2002. In 2004, 17 out of the earlier granted LTE were granted ATC for a 24 month validity period,” it added.

Anita Fatunji