NDDC to explore partnership opportunities in modular refineries

MANAGING Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr Nsima Ekere, is leading a strong delegation to the 2017 ‘Oil Technology Conference’ to explore partnership opportunities in modular refineries for the Niger Delta region

The conference, which is holding from May 1-4 in Houston, United States, is the number one forum for knowledge exchange in drilling, exploration, production development, environmental protection, innovation and technology and it would bring together leading professionals and players in the global oil and gas industry.

Ekere said NDDC would be at the conference in its preparation to implement the proposal by the Federal Government to replace thousands of illegal refining facilities scattered across the region with modular refineries.

The NDDC boss, in a statement on Thursday by the Head, Corporate Affairs, Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, said, “Our participation in this year’s conference is a proactive strategy, to fully prepare the region for a new era of downstream operations by small and new players in line with plans by the Federal Government to convert illegal refineries into modular ones.

“We have scheduled meetings and engagements that will enrich our knowledge and open up new partnership opportunities for the benefit of the Niger Delta Region and its people.”

He also disclosed that the interventionist agency planned to display the works of some young innovators from the region, under the Niger Delta Young Innovators Scheme, at the conference.

NDDC, he said, was supporting participating innovators and entrepreneurs to take their innovations to the global stage, as a strategy to attract new business, strengthen indigenous capacity and boost employment and economic activities in the region.

NDDC, which was established in 2000 to facilitate the rapid, even and sustainable development of the Niger Delta, had since its inception, undertaken more than 7,500 infrastructure projects and equipped more than 10,000 youths with market-relevant skills across the nine states in the region.

About 1211 indigenes of the region have also benefitted from the commission’s foreign post-graduate scholarships, while up to 3 million people have been impacted directly under its medical outreach mission.

The Federal Government recently announced plans to replace illegal oil refineries with modular refineries as part of a wider plan for the development of the Niger Delta, and the country’s oil and gas industry.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, had recently disclosed that discussions have already begun on the modalities for operating modular refineries.

“In the past few weeks, we have had open and prospective discussions with some of the refiners and government is assiduously working to ensure this initiative is carefully implemented without destruction to the environment.

“This will not only provide a legal job and source of income for the populace, but also contribute to our national productivity,” he had said.