Nigeria aims to be net exporter of petrol over next two-years as BUA picks Axens for refinery project

Nigeria aims to become a net exporter of petrol and other petroleum products over the next two years as oil refinery projects in the country come on-stream, Department of Petroleum Resources has said. The DPR said five refineries are being built across the country and another seven are planned, which would reverse Nigeria’s dependence on imports.

Meanwhile BUA Group has selected France’s Axens for a multibillion-dollar 200,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery and petrochemicals plant in Nigeria, the French company said in a statement on Tuesday. Axens, which makes systems to convert oil and biomass to cleaner fuels, said it will provide technology for the greenfield project designed to produce Euro-V fuels and polypropylene targeted at domestic and regional markets. Nigeria, Africa’s top oil exporter, aims to become a net exporter of gasoline and other petroleum products over the next two years as refinery projects in the West African country come on stream, the industry regulator said on Tuesday.

“This large complex will help in reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuels and petrochemicals,” said BUA, which also has interests in cement, food and mining. The BUA project will be located in Nigeria’s oil-producing region of Akwa-Ibom state, the statement said. A combined capacity of 375,000 barrels per day (bpd) is expected from 27 modular refineries, DPR Chief Executive Sarki Auwalu said in a statement, adding that 650,000 bpd are due from the oil refinery being built by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. The government has a 450,000 bpd capacity, he said, without saying when the projects will be completed. The DPR aims to expand oil reserves to 40 billion barrels and gas reserves to 210 trillion cubic feet, Auwalu said, without providing a comparative figure. Auwalu said the department would aim to grow oil production from its current 2.4 million bpd capacity to 3 million bpd production capacity and cut production costs.