Yemisi Izuora
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, described Waltersmith’s modular refinery expansion drive as a model in local content implementation.
Ogbe, the project is boosting direct and in-direct job creation, capital retention, industrialization, import substitution and value addition to crude oil and gas resources.
The ES, made the remarks when he visited the Waltersmith modular refinery at Ohaji- Egbema, Imo State.
Ogbe, who was represented by the Director Legal Services NCDMB, Dr Naboth Onyesoh, expressed delight at the success of Waltersmith modular refinery.
The visit was to inspect the newly completed expansion of the firm’s refining capacity, from 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10,000 bpd.
The NCDMB invested equity in the Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited’s modular refinery in 2018 and helped catalyze the investment, leading to the commissioning of the first phase of the plant in November 2020.
The Board also participated in the expansion, which is now completed and operational, producing AGO (diesel), Household kerosine (HHK), HFO (Heavy Fuel Oil) and Naphtha.
The refinery has to date supplied over 1.1 billion litres of refined products to local and regional markets, helping to strengthen Nigeria’s and West Africa’s energy security and contributing immensely to the national economy. The refinery supplies most of its products to the South-East and South-South parts of the country, while the HFO gets to West African sub-region.
Mr. Abdulrazak Isa, Chairman of Waltersmith Petroman, said the visit was organised to showcase the completed facility to NMDPRA’s new leadership and its partner, NCDMB and unveil its next developmental phase. He said the company had grown from owning one oil field at inception three decades ago, to expanding to several fields, including owning stakes in Renaissance Africa Energy Ltd, which acquired the entire assets of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in March 2025.
He further announced the firm’s plan to commence two further phases of expansion, which will include the construction of 30,000 barrels per day condensate refinery and an industry park, which will accommodate other gas based firms. He said the firm will develop a gas line that will deliver 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, and provide an embedded captive power, to attract industries to co-locate in the industrial park.
Plans are afoot to conclude the partnership agreement for the condensate refinery by the 4th quarter of 2026 he said, adding that feedstock for the integrated expansions will come from the Ibigwe and Assa fields, as well as from nearby fields.
The Chairman underlined the company’s determination to invest in the petrochemical sector, leveraging on its access to gas and Naphtha, noting that the petrochemical industry is a key enabler of the economy.
He sought approvals from the NMDRA for the various stages of the upcoming developments.
Also, speaking, the Authority Chief Executive (ACE) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Saidu Mohammed, expressed his delight at the success of the facility and promised the agency’s support to the company’s expansion plans.
He said the midstream sector of the petroleum industry holds the key to the nation’s economic development, adding that the establishment of such projects is the dream of every administration.
He described Waltersmith as an octopus in the midstream sector and challenged the company to hasten the development of the condensate refinery.
Mohammed also commended NCDMB for partnering with Waltersmith to develop the project, which had become a run-away success.