South Korean Investors Plan 4 New Refineries In Nigeria

A consortium of South Korean investors is set to build four refineries, each with a 100,000-barrel-per-day capacity, in various parts of Nigeria.

This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, during the first summit organised by the Crude Oil Refineries Owners Association of Nigeria, held in Lagos on Tuesday.

According to Lokpobiri, the Federal Government was committed to attracting refinery investments by creating an open and conducive environment. He emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships as a means to drive development in the midstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. He also highlighted the government’s approval for the South Korean consortium to establish the new refineries, although he did not disclose the consortium’s name.

“We encourage investors to build limited refineries by providing an open environment. A recent approval was granted to invite to Nigeria a consortium of investors from South Korea, which intends to establish four 100,000 barrels-model refineries in four different locations in Nigeria,” Lokpobiri stated.

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He explained that the Federal Government’s approach included equity investment in both modular and larger refineries, aimed at ensuring energy security for the nation. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has also published guidelines to enhance transparency and facilitate local refinery access to crude oil supplies.

“In addition, we prioritise and work with stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of the recommendations of the Modular Refinery Committee to give special concession to local refineries’ owners, thereby guaranteeing feedstock to their refineries,” he added.

Addressing the potential economic impact, Lokpobiri said, “We will ensure the deregulation of the downstream sector is 100 percent and put in place a necessary framework that will ease the impact on the poor masses.”

He also mentioned steps being taken to simplify access to tax exemptions for importing refinery equipment as part of the strategy to make Nigeria self-sufficient in petroleum refining. In his remarks, he suggested that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) could be amended to allow a portion of the National Gas Infrastructure Fund to support refinery-related infrastructure.

Lokpobiri also noted that the ministry is looking to foster partnerships for knowledge transfer and workforce development in refinery operations. “In no distant time, we intend to create the apprenticeship programme in collaboration with existing refineries to develop expertise in our refinery operations,” he disclosed.

To combat crude oil theft and illegal refining activities, Lokpobiri revealed that an international emergency committee has been established to find home-grown solutions for refining within the country.