TheNewsGuru

Tag: Modular Refineries

  • Modular refineries will make petroleum products available, eliminate importation – Buhari

    Modular refineries will make petroleum products available, eliminate importation – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari said in Abuja on Tuesday that the establishment of modular refineries in the country would make petroleum products available and eliminate importation.

    The president said this at the virtual inauguration of the 5,000-barrels-per-day Waltersmith modular refinery in Ibigwe, Imo.

    Buhari also performed the Ground-Breaking for the Phase-2 works aimed at expanding the capacity of the refinery to 50,000 barrels/day.

    According to him, the deployment of modular refineries is one of the four key elements of his administration’s Refinery Roadmap rolled out in 2018.

    He said that the deployment of such refineries would make Nigeria a net exporter of petroleum products.

    The president said he was happy that the Waltersmith refinery in Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of Imo was coming on stream within two years of the inauguration of the roadmap, after many years of granting licenses for the establishment of modular refineries with nothing to show for it.

    “Furthermore, there is increased momentum in the other three focus areas under the roadmap covering the rehabilitation of existing refineries, co-location of new refineries, and construction of greenfield refineries.

    “The realisation of the Refinery Roadmap will ultimately lead us to becoming a net exporter of petroleum products not only to neighbouring countries but to the worldwide market.

    “This modular refinery is the largest commissioned modular refinery in the country today.

    “The role played by the Federal Government through the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in going into collaboration with Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Company is novel in concept and superb in delivery,” he said.

    Buhari described plans to expand the crude oil and condensates refining capacity of the refinery to 50,000 barrels per day as “an important part of economic reforms the country is undergoing.

    “I look forward to seeing this new phase completed within the target timeframe.”

    Buhari, therefore, directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as well as all relevant government agencies to give Waltersmith refining company all the necessary support it would need to access crude oil and condensate feedstock for the timely delivery of the additional capacity.

    The president said he was pleased to note that hundreds of direct and indirect jobs were created during the construction of the first phase of the project in addition to the various business opportunities in line with his administration’s agenda on job creation

    He said he was hopeful that the implementation of the second phase of the project would create bigger additional employment opportunities.

    Buhari expressed appreciation to the local community and the people of Imo for hosting the refinery, which, he stressed, would create prosperity and economic development in the area.

    He praised the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, the Chairman and members of the Governing Council, and the management and staff of NCDMB for making what he called the public-private partnership a success.

    He also applauded the Chairman, Board, Management, and Staff of Waltersmith refinery for the professionalism and focus they brought to bear on getting the project completed.

    Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo and the Minister of State, Petroleum, cut the tape on behalf of the president at the event which was also attended by the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari.

    Others, who attended the event included the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, and the Chairman of WalterSmith refinery, Abdulrazaq Isa.

  • Two modular refineries to commence operations in 2019 –FG

    Two modular refineries to commence operations in 2019 –FG

    The Federal Government on Wednesday announced that two modular refineries in the Niger Delta will commence operations in the coming year (2019).

    It also stated that a directive was issued recently for the release of funds for the clean-up of the oil polluted area of Ogoni in the Niger Delta.

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, disclosed these in a podcast that was made available to newsmen in Abuja.

    “We came up with the concept of what to do with the illegal refining that was going on in the region and we developed the modular refinery concept. To date, we’ve targeted development and have approved 10 of those; two are basically on land and are under construction, and hopefully within the next one year, we will be able to deliver real results. We are also pushing for the other eight,” Kachikwu said.

    He stated that his team had visited the two modular refineries that were on ground, adding that “the additional eight are basically getting ready for completion and financing.”

    The minister stated that following several attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta for a period of about 10 months, crude oil production dropped to as low as 800,000 barrels per day when the current administration came on board.

    Kachikwu, however, noted that after series of engagements with leaders and different groups in the region, militants in the Niger Delta observed series of ceasefires, a development that led to the rise in crude oil production to about 2.2 million bpd.

    He also stated that inter-agency researches had shown that over $40bn had gone into the Niger Delta in a period of 15 years without commensurate development in the area.

    In a bid to develop capacities in the Niger Delta and ensure the adequate use of funds invested in the region, the minister said the Federal Government had to set up state technical committees in three states of the region.

    Kachikwu stated, “I have gone ahead to set up state technical committees. And the whole idea is to look at what oil is produced in a state, what volumes are available, what opportunities for economic empowerment are there and what are the burning issues in those areas.

    “These technical committees have been launched in three states, Edo, Delta and Imo, and we are looking to complete that whole process.”

    On Ogoni clean-up, the minister said he just directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and other oil companies to release funds for the commencement of the exercise in a short period of time.

    Kachikwu added, “We are working with the Ministry of Environment to continue the Ogoni clean-up. I’ve just directed that funds necessary for this must be released within a very short period of time so that this Ogoni clean-up can actually move from the drawing board to actual practical realities.

    “And I’ve called both the NNPC and other oil companies to fund it sufficiently for us to move forward.”

  • We’ll soon install modular refineries in Delta, Rivers – FG

    The Federal Government on Saturday assured the Niger Delta region that the modular refineries for Delta and Rivers States will soon be delivered.

    It also said the Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, would commence academic activities for the 2017/2018 academic year with 196 students.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, disclosed these in a statement made available to journalists.

    Akande said the information formed part of the highlights of a meeting of the Niger Delta Inter-Ministerial Committee presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday.

    “The meeting was also briefed on the progress of the modular refineries. One set of modular refinery package shipment has since arrived in Nigeria, and after undergoing clearance at customs, would be installed in Delta State; while another set, which is expected to arrive the country in April this year, would be installed in Rivers State,” Akande said.

    He further disclosed that the operation of the modular refineries would include the involvement of communities where they were located.

    He said Osinbajo explained that the decision would ensure that the communities benefited directly from the refineries which would help create jobs and engage youths in the region.

    Akande added that the committee, in December last year, received a report that 38 licensed privately-financed greenfield and mini-modular refineries investors had so far indicated interest in the establishment of refineries in the region, with at least 10 of the licensed refineries investors at an advanced stage of development.

    He also said the Maritime University would start lectures next month.

    He said 196 students had so far been admitted into the university to commence their academic programmes, while 76 applications were still pending.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had approved an increase in the take-off grant allocated to the university from the N2bn earlier announced to N5bn.

    The sum was included in the 2018 budget presented to the National Assembly in November 2017.

    Similarly, an additional N1bn was approved by the President to support essential infrastructure works and staff recruitment in the university in November 2017.

    Akande added that the Niger Delta Development Commission also disclosed at the meeting that it completed 372 projects covering roads, bridges, electricity, water, among others, in 2017.

    He also said work was in progress on the Ogoni clean-up, and the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project under the Ministry of Environment, as it is set to commence the procurement process for contracting experts for the remediation and clean-up of impacted sites.

  • Invest more in modular refineries to end fuel scarcity, IPMAN advises FG

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) on Tuesday advised the Federal Government to invest more in modular refineries as a way to end fuel scarcity.

    Its Chairman, South-west zone, Alhaji Debo Ahmed, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo only two days ago in Lagos, confirmed that 10 modular refineries were at advanced stages of development in the Niger Delta.

    The 10 modular refineries are located in five out of the nine states in the Niger Delta.

    The states include Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Imo states.

    Osinbajo said two of the refineries, Amakpe Refinery (Akwa Ibom), and OPAC Refinery (Delta State), have had their mini-refinery modules already fabricated, assembled and containerized overseas and ready for shipment to Nigeria for installation.

    The total proposed refining capacities of the 10 licensed refineries stands at 300,000 barrels.

    Ahmed said the modular refineries could help address any shortfall in fuel supply pending when additional refineries would be built.

    “It will also boost the country’s revenue generation and address frequent fuel capacity experienced during the yuletide seasons.

    “Our expectation in 2018 is for the government to invest more on modular refineries to be able to have more petrol locally to address scarcity,’’ he said.

    Ahmed said government had performed credibility well in the downstream sector in 2017, adding that it should crown it by building more modular refineries.

    According to him, a modular refinery is cheaper to build and it can move from one place to another.

    “A modular refinery is capable of refining between 10,000 and 35,000 barrels of crude oil per day,’’he said.

    He also urged the government to provide incentives that would attract investors to the oil and gas sector.

  • FG working towards take-off of 10 modular refineries in Niger Delta – Osinbajo

    …says Ogoni clean-up recording progress

    Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo assured stakeholders that the promotion and establishment of privately financed modular refineries in the country remain a top priority of the Federal Government.

    According to Osinbajo, the objective is to increase local refining capacity, create jobs and ensure peace and stability in the Niger Delta region.

    The policy featured prominently at the last interactive session between federal government officials led by Osinbajo and a delegation of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

    Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the vice president, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the initiative would also reposition the petroleum industry and ensure self-sufficiency of petroleum products, while serving as a disincentive for illegal refineries and oil pollution.

    He quoted the VP as saying “the federal government, in line with its Niger Delta New Vision, is targeting measurable objectives in its efforts towards implementing development projects in the region.”

    The December 22 meeting, according to Akande, “received a report that 38 licensed privately financed green field and mini-modular refineries investors have so far indicated interests in the establishment of refineries in the region, and at least ten of the licensed refineries investors are at an advanced stage of development.

    “The advanced stage of development means that these projects have passed the Licence to Establish (LTE) stage, while some have the Authority to Construct (ATC) licence or close to having it because they have met some critical requirements in the licensed stage.

    “There are three stages in the process of refinery establishment; Licence to Establish (LTE), Authority to Construct (ATC) and Licence to Operate (LTO).

    “So far, 10 modular refineries are located in five out of the nine states in the Niger Delta region; namely Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Imo states.

    “Also, two out of these 10 – Amakpe Refinery meant to be located in Akwa Ibom, and OPAC Refinery to be based in Delta State – have their mini-refineries modules already fabricated, assembled and containerized overseas, ready for shipment to Nigeria for installation. The total proposed refining capacities of the 10 licensed refineries stands at 300,000 barrels.”

    Vice President Osinbajo directed the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to keep providing the necessary support and creating the enabling environment for positive investments in modular refineries by engaging key government agencies.

    Such agencies include the Niger Delta Development Commission ((NDDC), Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and financial institutions, including the International Finance Corporation, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, Bank of Industry, amongst others.

    The Vice President stressed the importance of ensuring that the oil communities have a stake in the modular refineries and directed that an appropriate model be developed to achieve that.

    Other issues addressed at the end of the year meeting include the Maritime University, Ogoni Clean-up, and other related issues such as increasing support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the region.

    On the Maritime University take-off, the Vice President noted that further support would be given by the federal government to ensure the training of staff to give the best to the incoming students of the institution.

    On the Ogoni clean-up, the Project Coordinator for the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, (HYPREP), Dr. Marvin Dekil briefed the meeting that progress has been made in several areas of the clean-up.

    He listed the evaluation of existing water facilities in the four local government areas in Ogoni land in the process of providing clean drinking water, demonstration of remediation technologies at sites in some of the impacted communities; hiring of and the technical training of Ogoni scientists. The Coordinator added that health impact assessment would be conducted in some communities in the coming weeks.

    At the meeting were the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Unguru Usani; Education Minister Adamu Adamu; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jubril.

    Others include the Director-General of Nigeria Maritime Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside; Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Corporation, Mr. Nsima Ekere; and the Special Adviser to the President on the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig-General Paul Boroh (rtd).

  • Dickson commends FG on proposed establishment of modular refineries

    Dickson commends FG on proposed establishment of modular refineries

    … says Bayelsa will lead the way to invest in refineries

    … to establish three modular refineries in each senatorial zones

    Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has commended the Federal Government for its decision to set up modular refineries in the Niger Delta.

    Dickson described the decision as a brilliant idea that would not only create more jobs but would also increase the economic fortunes of Nigeria.

    According to him, the refineries when fully on stream will also curb the illegal refining of petroleum products which has been on for years and reduce casualties associated with such risk.

    He said that his administration would establish three modular refineries in each of the three senatorial zones in the state. This translates to nine modular refineries to be sited in the state.

    A statement on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said governor Dickson made the commendation on sidelines of the ongoing Oil and Gas Trade Conference in Houston, Texas, United States of America.

    The governor had gone to the conference with Senator Foster Ogola, Fred Agbedi who is Chairman House Committee on Gas, Henry Ofongu, Secretary to the State Government, Serena Dokubo-Spiff, Commissioner for Investment, Trade, Commerce and Industries, Kemela Okara, Chief Economic Adviser, Duate Iyabe, Special Adviser on Investment, Cyril Akika and other top aides.

    Dickson said that because of the laudable initiative, his government had fully embraced it by setting up a company, Bayelsa Petrochemical and Refinery Company Limited, to partner with willing investors to ensure that the refineries were established and up and running.

    The governor said Bayelsa being the home of oil and gas in Nigeria, provided strategic investment opportunities as well as a conducive and secured environment to drive investment in that sector.

    He said that the participation of his state in the OTC was strategic, noting that it afforded the government the opportunity to meet and leverage with prospective investors on various opportunities provided by his government.

    Dickson who reiterated ‎that already Bayelsa State had in abundance gas feedstock to power the modular refineries said, “It is interesting to note that we already have more than enough gas in abundance to deliver the three modular refineries in each of the senatorial zones, translating to nine, so we are good to go”.

    While emphasising the issue of security, the governor assured prospective investors that all investments would be fully secure‎d and also allayed fears expressed on threats to destruction of pipelines.

    “To a large extent, as a state government given our strategic and massive investment in security ‎over the last five years, we make bold to say that our state is one of the safest in the Niger Delta and Nigeria. So would-be investors have nothing to worry about,” Dickson added.

     

  • Modular refineries: FG will prove sincerity to communities, ex-militants – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said on Thursday that the Federal Government would engage the Niger Delta communities on construction of modular refineries on the basis of trust.

    He said this during the inter-ministerial meeting on the Niger Delta in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    It focused on the implementation efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari’s New Vision for oil-producing communities in the region.

    Already states in the region are beginning to indicate interest to work with the Federal Government and the private sector to develop the modular refinery concept as a panacea for illegal refineries in the region.

    “We are saying there is a way out of violent agitation, but it is by creating opportunities and the environment where the people in the communities can benefit.

    “We will engage them on the basis of trust; we must prove to them that we are trust-worthy”, Osinbajo said.

    Issues of planning for the Maritime University, update on contractors in the Niger Delta returning to site and amnesty were also discussed at the meeting.

    The inter-ministerial meeting was attended by the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Mr Kingsley Otuoro and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani.

    Also in attendance was the Minister of State for Petroleum Resource, Dr Ibe Kachikwu and his counterpart in the Ministry of Environment, Malam Ibrahim Jibril.

    The MD of NDDC, Mr Nsima Ekere, the D-G of NIMASA, Mr Dakuku Peterside and the head of the Amnesty Office, retired Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh, were also in attendance.

    The Vice President also met with a delegation from the Gbaramatu Kingdom accompanied by a group of U.S. investors.

    The meeting, under the aegis of the Kingdom’s Oil and Gas Producing Trust Fund, deliberated on prospective investors’ interest in a Modular Refinery project in the community.

    At the meeting, the Vice President noted that the modular refineries to be established should be profitable and realistic in order to address critical issues bordering on the development of the region on a sustainable basis.

    He said the Federal Government was determined to address challenges in the Niger Delta in a comprehensive manner.

    “There are several things that we are working on now on the modular refineries and what government’s own participation is all about.

    “We are also trying to work out a template for implementing this decision on modular refineries.

    “But we must also structure this in a way that works for business or structure it in a way that is realistic and works, otherwise it will not last.

    “It is a business proposition first and foremost; it must make sense.”

    Osinbajo also said that the Buhari administration was determined to ensure that “we look at how we deal with the issues concerning the Niger Delta as enshrined in our new vision for the region.

    “It is a long term commitment; that is why we are looking at projects that will benefit the people of the region and the country at large”, he said.

    Osinbajo commended the Gbaramatu community for taking the initiative to support government’s actualisation of a plan for the region, saying “it should be one of the models of what we will be doing in the future.”

    Leader of the delegation and Bolowei of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Chief Wellington Okirika said the community was committed to the actualisation of the 20,000 barrels per day from the Gbaramatu Modular Refinery project.

    Okirika said the project would ensure lasting peace and stability in the region and thanked the Buhari presidency for the Vice President’s visit to the Kingdom.