Yemisi Izuora
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) said it has
granted a total of 25 private refinery licences to companies.
Out of the number 21 licences are in the Licence to Establish (LTE) category, while 4 in the Approval to Construct (ATC) category.
The agency also said that 3 of the 25 licenced companies are billed to construct conventional stick-build plants while 22 will construct modular units with a proposed combined refining capacity of 1,429,000 bpd.
It said in a statement in lagos that in issuing the licences due process were followed in line with its commitment to entrench transparency in oil and gas regulatory function.
For purpose of understanding the DPR engages three stages of licencing for establishment of private refineries in Nigeria.
The stages include Licence to Establish (LTE), Approval to Construct (ATC) and Licence to Operate (LTO)
The DPR said it 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
The Department in 2007 reviewed the existing guidelines and a new guiding document, “Guidelines for the Establishment of Hydrocarbon Processing Plants in Nigeria” was introduced to ensure that only committed investors were licenced.
The agency also said it has not withdrawn the licence of any private refinery, rather, the Department is in alignment with Government’s aspiration of improving Nigeria’s refining capacity by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.