Edo Modular Refinery at 70% completion

The Edo Modular and Refinery Company Limited and AIPCC Energy are on the verge of completing the 5500bpd Edo Modular Refinery. The project, sited at Ologbo in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area (LGA), would produce from its feedstock 50 per cent of diesel (500,000 liters), 25 percent of naphta (300,000 liters) and 20 percent of fuel oil (200,000) liters. The crude is to be sourced from the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company’s (NPDC) facility – oil mining lease (OML) 111, near Benin City. The Chinese consortium handling the construction of the modular refinery is made up of Peiyang Chemical Equipment Company of China (PCC), Sinopec International Petroleum Service Corporation (SIPS) and African Infrastructure Partners (AIP).

Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said the modular refinery project is among the growing list of ongoing legacy projects through Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with local and international private investors, which include the 55MW CCTEC Ossiomo Power Plant, which has been completed and ready for use; the Benin Enterprise and Industrial Park, which development is ongoing and the Benin River Port, for which preliminary works are ongoing. Noting that the governor is committed to resetting the economy of the state for prosperity and industrial growth, he said “The local content component of the refinery project ensures that Edo citizens are trained in welding, refinery operation and fabrication works to enable them participate in the construction of the refinery as well as its operation, post-commissioning. The refinery is at 70 percent completion and we are very sure that it will soon be ready for commissioning.”

He added that the actualisation of the project is premised on the governor’s smart thinking and financial savviness through which he mobilized funds and resources to initiate and execute the project. Recall that the Edo State EXCO approved the release of N700 million as redeemable preference shares (investment) in the Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited. The venture is expected to create legitimate employment opportunities thereby reducing poverty, provide job opportunities for teeming youths in the communities, facilitate the establishment of a fabrication yard as proposed by the promoters, and create basis for expertise, professionalism and further training in the oil and gas industry.

The take-off of the Edo Refinery and Petrochemicals Company benefits from a series of groundwork by the Obaseki-led administration that led to the setting up of Edo Investment Scheme Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to hold N2 billion investment funds in which the Ministry of Finance Incorporation (MOFI) and the Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Areas Development Commission (EDSOGPADEC) which are to hold shares of 20 percent and 80 per cent respectively. It would facilitate the state’s investment in various initiatives across the oil and gas sector; petroleum exploration, drilling and filling stations, sales and supply of gas, agro-allied products, petroleum and petrochemical products and other related businesses.