The Federal Government has concluded plans to issue 23 licences to establish modular mini refineries so as to increase local refining capacity, Vanguard reports.
The Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Mordecai Danteni Baba Ladan noted that it was part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to reposition the petroleum industry so as to ensure that there was ready availability of petroleum products.
According to him,the three licensing stages that must be sequentially and meticulously followed before a process plant can be commissioned for operation are: a licence to establish, a licence to construct the plant, and a licence to operate the plant whether for a petroleum refinery, petrochemicals and gas processing plant.
It would be recalled that the licensing of 18 private refineries by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005 could not achieve any results as they eventually constituted themselves into the Association of Private Petroleum Refinery Owners of Nigeria.