The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, has approved the construction of a new refinery in Delta State.
This license was granted to MRO Energy Limited for the establishment of a 10,000 Barrels Per Stream Day refinery in Imode, Ughelli.
This approval is part of ongoing efforts to increase Nigeria’s refining capacity.
The authority in a post on its official X handle on Tuesday, said, “The Authority Chief Executive, Engr. Farouk Ahmed presented a Licence To Establish a 10,000 Barrels Per Stream Day Refinery at Imode In Ughelli, Delta State, to MRO Energy Limited.”
Just two months ago, a similar license was issued to Process Design and Development Limited for a 27,000 barrels per day refinery in Gombe State.
Currently, Nigeria has about 11 modular and standard refineries.
However, many of these facilities are either not operational or functioning below capacity.
To address the nation’s refining challenges, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association recently partnered with other stakeholders to establish a new refinery with a capacity of 50,000 barrels per day.
Despite these initiatives, Nigeria’s domestic refining target remains at 770,500 barrels of oil per day, leaving room for significant improvement in the sector.