The Federal Government has announced that it is ready to issue a fully valid operating licence to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
This was disclosed during the Stakeholders’ Consultation Forum on Midstream and Petroleum Host Community Development Trust Regulations organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in Abuja on Tuesday, according to The Punch.
The NMDPRA, an agency of the Federal Government, however, noted that a fully valid operating licence would be issued to the Dangote refinery soon, despite the initial award of a pre-commissioning licence to the $20bn Dangote Refinery.
Commenting, the Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, represented by the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, NMDPRA, Ogbugo Ukoha, stated that the authority would issue a fully valid operating licence to the refinery very soon, noting only three refineries currently have valid licences.
He said “We have issued three refineries with three valid licences. We awarded to Dangote refinery even in their pre-commissioning and sooner than later they will have full commission and a valid licence to also operate.”
He also stated that there are currently 15 gas installations in the country with valid licences, several others are being processed.
The NMDPRA boss said there are 1,199 facilities with valid licences in 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 noted why locations in the midstream and downstream arms of the oil sector were included as part of host communities, adding that emissions and effluence affect them.
The Dangote refinery, first scheduled to open in 2021, was officially inaugurated by then-President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
