Yemisi Izuora/Ijeoma Agudosi
Integrated Oil and Gas Ltd., said it received initial license from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to start preliminary work for a 20,000 capacity modular refinery in Lagos.
Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of the company, Capt. Emmaneul Ihenacho, said the company would spend between $75 – $250 million for the project.
Ihenacho said already work has started on the Environmental Impact Assessment, (EIA) and that the company is working on other necessary requirements needed before the final approval for the refinery can be granted.
He described the process leading to the final licensing for the project as a “continuous” one which is given in stages, saying that he intends to get funding for the project from both foreign and local banks.
According to him, If you go to the DPR website you will see all the terms and conditions for granting of refinery licenses. The DPR gives you license in stages, it gives you license to establish, license to construct and after that it gives you license to operate.
Continuing, he added that DPR would not sit down and say let us go and do an EIA and after that they will give you license.
They give you license based on the technology that is used for refining and your ability to give then very good presentation on that subject before they say alright go and start it.
He also noted if the refinery is constructed without the capacity to produce Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, Automated Gas Oil, AGO and the like, the cost would be around $75 million (N25.8 billion), whereas if those components are included, the cost would be around $200 million (N69 billion).