Business
Marketers, Oil Companies Partner to Build New Refinery
To enhance refining capacity in Nigeria, petroleum marketers and three oil companies have signed a deal to establish a 50,000 barrels per day capacity refinery.
The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) in a deal with Claridge Petroleum Company Limited and Oasis Petrochemical Products Limited, Wednesday, said the new facility would be in Akwa Ibom State.
The National President, PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, who revealed this, said the deal was signed to provide Nigerians with affordable fuel.
He said the association had signed a deal with three other companies to import cheaper fuel to Nigeria.
PETROAN disclosed in November that it would import and sell petrol below the price offered by the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
However, the PETROAN boss said the import agreement was jettisoned due to the plan to build the new refinery.
He said the move became necessary as the stakeholders signed a deal to end fuel import.
According to Gillis-Harry, the firms have agreed to fund the refinery while the marketers have assured off-taking of the product, noting that the transactions and final agreements could take about one to two weeks.
The PETROAN leader said the association would be responsible for the products coming out of the refinery.
Gillis-Harry said the companies would provide the resources. In contrast, the marketers give the capacity of retail outlet owners to partner with to provide them with a guarantee to lift the products.
While stating that the facility could take three to five years to build, Gillis-Harry said the conditions are futuristic.
According to him, securing the licensing and approval from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to build the facility was straightforward.