3 modular refineries ready for take-off in Delta —Govt

THREE modular refineries with the refining capacity of 30 barrels per day are ready for take-off in Delta State.

The disclosure was made by the Delta State Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Mofe Pirah, at the Nigerian International Petroleum Summit in Abuja.

He, however, frowned on the cumbersomeness in obtaining approvals for setting up refineries in Nigeria.

This bottleneck, according to him, is currently delaying getting approvals from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to commence work.

“Delta State already has three modular refineries waiting to take off now. One in Sapele, one in the Kwale axis, and one in Okpai.

“They are 10,000 barrels each. They are yet to come on stream because of the rigours associated with getting approvals from the DPR, as well as getting funding, among others.

“Some of the refineries have got certificates; for others, we have acquired the sites and engineering work is in progress.

“The construction of the refineries will commence this year,” he noted.

Pirah informed the gathering that the state government was working round the clock to address the challenges bedevilling the Niger Delta.

He said such efforts brought about the relative peace in oil-bearing communities which had upped crude oil output.

According to him, “In 2016, it was rough and tough in the Niger Delta, particularly in Delta State, but we have been able to calm it down seriously.

“Since the first quarter of last year till today, I’m sure you read minimal news about vandalism and crude oil theft. And you will equally agree that Nigeria’s crude oil production has moved up tremendously.

“You can also see what comes into the Federation Account from oil and gas sales since the first quarter of last year, compared to what happened in 2016.

“The Delta State government is going round all the communities to ensure peace.”

“I should let you know that Heritage Oil has started production and the company is the owner of OML 30.

“When that oil well was abandoned, they were producing 30,000 barrels per day, but as I speak with you, Heritage is producing about 75,000 barrels per day and they have a lot of drilling activities coming up from the second quarter of this year.

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