By Our Energy Correspondent
Three petrol-chemical companies have received refining licenses from the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Resources Authority (NMDPRA), to build new refineries in Abia, Delta, and Edo States.
NMDPRA announced this on Friday, in a statement on its official X page.
The proposed refineries are: Eghudu Refinery Ltd, Edo State (100,000 bpd), MB Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Ltd, Delta State (30,000 bpd), HIS Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd, Abia State, (10,000 bpd), making a combined refining capacity of 140,000 barrels per day.
“The Authority Chief Executive, Engr. Farouk Ahmed, presented a License to construct a 100,000 bpd refinery to Eghudu Refinery Ltd in Edo state, a License to establish a 30,000 bpd refinery to MB Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Ltd in Delta state, and a License to establish a 10,000 bpd refinery to HIS Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd. in Abia state.
“These Licenses, which would add 140,000 barrels per day to Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity, were presented to the MDs of the companies,” the statement said.
The growing number of refineries in Nigeria
According to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria has nine refineries are currently operational in Nigeria, with a combined refining capacity of 974,500 barrels per day.
They are: the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company, and the Port Harcourt Refinery Company Limited.
Others are the Aradel Refinery, OPAC Refineries, Waltersmith Refinery and Petrochemical Company, Duport Midstream Company Limited, and the Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company.
Dangote refinery has the largest capacity of 650,000 bpd.
It is pertinent to state that most of the refineries are not producing at full capacity.
According to the NUPRC, the nine refineries would require a combined daily crude supply of 770,500 bpd and 123,480,500 barrels in the first half of 2025.
This number is growing with more new refineries under construction and licensed by the NMDPRA.
It would be recalled that in January, 2025, the NMDPRA issued a license for the construction of a 10,000 bpd refinery in the Ughelli area of Delta State to MRO Energy Limited.
247nextnews.com reports that with the growing number of refineries has positioned Nigeria as a major refining hub in Africa.
Despite assurances given by the Federal Government,however, half of the refineries still struggle to secure crude locally.
