Page 5 - DMEA Week 15 2022

DMEA COMMENTARY DMEA

the diversification of the Nigerian economy and limited to the 10,000 bpd OPAC Refineries facil-
Abuja has high hopes pinned on its success. ity in Delta state, the 6,000 bpd Edo Refinery and
Speaking during a tour of the facility at Lekki Petrochemical Co., the 5,000 bpd Waltersmith
outside Lagos, Minister of Minister of Informa- Refining & Petrochemical Co. at Ibigwe in Imo
tion and Culture Lai Mohammed said the $19bn and a 1,000 bpd unit run by Niger Delta Petro-
refinery – and the nearby Dangote Fertilizer leum Resources in Rivers.
facility that was launched in March – would be a An announcement is imminent on the start
game-changer not just for Nigeria, but for Africa of operations at the 2,500 bpd Duport Mid-
more broadly. stream facility in Edo State’s Egbokor Energy
“After visiting the facilities, one can conven- Park, while the 12,000 bpd Azikel Petroleum
iently say that Dangote is leading Nigeria’s indus- and 2,000 bpd Atlantic International Refineries
trial revolution,” Mohammed said. and Petrochemical facilities in Bayelsa are also
Construction work at the refinery is complete expected to come on stream this year.
and testing is ongoing ahead of the commence- Integration with remote oilfields and their
ment of refining operations during Q3. ability to provide fuel to the surrounding areas
Devakumar Edwin, group executive for strat- has helped with buy-in from local communities,
egy, capital projects and portfolio development, which has been key to their success.
said in late March that “75% hydraulic testing ... Given their success, there have been calls
as well as 70% of electrical cable fitting have been from industry stakeholders for Abuja to pro-
completed preparatory to the completion of the vide a subsidy of up to 70% for the fee to obtain a
refinery in the fourth quarter of this year.” refining licence as a means of reducing the num-
The company’s CEO Aliko Dangote said in ber of illegal refineries – sometimes referred to
February that the unit would come on stream in as artisanal refineries. However, according to
September at an initial capacity of 540,000 bpd, data provided by oil and gas consultancy IGM
ramping up to full capacity in early 2023. Energy, as of December last year, 14 entities held
licences covering 373,000 bpd of refining capac-
Modular units ity, none of which had proceeded to the final
While the Dangote unit will be capable of cov- ‘licence to establish’ phase.
ering all of Nigeria’s domestic fuel demand and While further expansion of the sector may be
turn the country into a net exporter, there will possible, considering that by the end of this year,
still be a place for smaller, modular refining facil- Nigeria’s refining capacity could rise from the
ities, which have been the one ‘tangible’ ray of current 22,000 bpd to 579,000 bpd, increasing to
light over past few years. 749,000 bpd just a few months later, there is little
At present, the country’s refining slate is urgency to hand out more licences.™

Nigerian Refineries - Current and Planned Capacity (kbbl/d)
Refinery State Status / Licence Expiry Active End-22 Planned / Theoretical
Port Harcourt Refinery 1 - NNPC Rivers Under Rehabilitation 0 0 60
Port Harcourt Refinery 2 - NNPC Rivers Under Rehabilitation 0 0 150
Warri Refining and Petrochemical Co. - NNPC Delta Under Rehabilitation 0 0 125
Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Co. - NNPC Kaduna Under Rehabilitation 0 0 110
Waltersmith Refining & Petrochemical Company Imo Operational 5 5 45
OPAC Refineries Delta Complete 10 10 10
Niger Delta Petroleum Resources (Train 3) Rivers Complete 1 1 6
Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Edo Complete 6 6 36
Duport Midstream Edo >95% Complete 0 2.5 10
Dangote Lagos Complete, Testing Ongoing 0 540 650
Azikel Petroleum Ltd Bayelsa >85% Complete 0 12 12
Atlantic International Refineries and Petrochemical Bayelsa Construction Ongoing 0 2 2
Total 22 579 1,216
Source: IGM Energy

Week 15 14•April•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P5