LIVE UPDATES
The Federal Government, On Tuesday, announced its plans to grant a fully valid operating license to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
This announcement was made during the Stakeholders’ Consultation Forum on Midstream and Petroleum Host Community Development Trust Regulations in Abuja, organized by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The NMDPRA, a Federal Government agency, clarified that while it had already granted a pre-commissioning license to the $20 billion refinery, a fully valid operating license would be issued in the near future.
The Dangote refinery, inaugurated by former President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2023, began supplying Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) to the domestic market in April but has not yet released Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).
During the forum in Abuja, Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive of NMDPRA, informed industry players and stakeholders that the authority would soon issue a fully valid operating license to the refinery.
Ahmed, represented by Ogbugo Ukoha, the Executive Director of Distribution Systems, Storage, and Retailing Infrastructure at NMDPRA, mentioned that currently, only three refineries have valid licenses.
He also stated that the Dangote refinery would soon receive full commission and a valid operating license.
He also stated that about 15 gas facilities across the country have valid licences while more are undergoing processing.
The NMDPRA boss said there are 1,199 facilities with valid licences in the downstream, while more than 176 operators hold gas import permits.
Ahmed said 130 depots have valid licences while 69 hold valid coastal vessel licences, adding that NMDPRA has licensed 9,464 retail outlets as of 10 am on April 30, 2024.
“In the gas processing facility within the midstream, there are about 15 of them with valid licences. And much is under processing. If you go to the downstream sector, in the gas state of the downstream, more than 1,199 facilities have NMDPRA valid licences.
“More than 176 operators hold gas import permits. In the liquid licensing side of the downstream, there are 130 depots with valid licences and coastal vessels of more than 69 valid licences as of today. And in the retail outlets, we have 9,464 licensed retail outlets as of 10 am today, April 30,” Ahmed stated.
He explained why locations in the midstream and downstream arms of the oil sector were included as part of host communities, stating that emissions and effluence affect them.
Ahmed said the authority organised the forum for stakeholders to ventilate their ideas and proffer measures that would further enable the NMDPRA to relate better with host communities in the mid and downstream arms of the oil sector.
