The Federal Government has issued 47 Licenses to Establish (LTE) and 30 Licenses to Construct (LTC) refineries in a bid to enhance Nigeria’s refining capacity and boost petroleum products availability.
According to Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the licenses have a combined refining capacity of nearly three million barrels per day.
“We have issued 47 LTEs translating to 1.75 million barrels per day and 30 LTCs translating to 1.23 million barrels per day. Only four plants hold LTC with a steady output of 27,000 barrels per day,” Ahmed disclosed during the sixth Meet-the-Press briefing in Abuja.
The move is part of the government’s efforts to reduce dependency on imported refined products and support economic growth through job creation and energy security. Ahmed emphasized that publicly owned facilities operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited add 445,000 barrels per day to the country’s refining capacity.
The NMDPRA’s licensing activities include approvals for modular refineries in Edo, Delta, and Abia states, expected to add 140,000 barrels per day upon completion. Some operational modular refineries include Aradel, OPAC, Waltersmith, Duport Midstream Limited, and Edo Refining and Petrochemicals Company Limited, with capacities ranging from 1,000 to 11,000 barrels per day. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
The development is expected to boost domestic refining capacity and reduce import dependency, supporting economic growth through job creation and energy security.