Edo Refinery gets operational license 

The management of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), on Tuesday, issued an operational licence to Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited, Ologbo, in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.

The NMDPRA is the Technical and Commercial Regulator of Midstream and Downstream Operations in the petroleum industry.

The issuance of the operational licence is the final stage of approval from the regulatory authority, which implies that the plant can now fully operate as a refinery.

The Authority Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Farouk, in a ceremony, handed the certificate to AIPCC, the parent company of Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited (ERPCL).

Farouk, who was accompanied by the Executive Director (ED) of NMDPRA, Hydrocarbon Processing Plant Installation and Transport Infrastructure (HPPITI), Mr. Francis Ogaree, handed over the operational licence to the refinery’s Head of Technical Operations, Segun Okeni.

During the handover, the CEO of NMDPRA commended the company for attaining this feat and encouraged the firm to do more.

READ ALSO: Edo refinery decries NNPCL’s failure to supply crude

On his part, the NMDPRA Executive Director assured the management of the refinery that the regulatory authority is a business enabler and will be ready to provide AIPCC Energy/Edo Refinery with all the necessary support in its projects.

Responding on behalf of AIPCC Energy, the Head of Technical Operations of Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited, Messrs Segun Okeni, said the company is committed to making its contributions to the petroleum refinery and gas processing subsector.

He disclosed that AIPCC is already developing three other projects, one of which is expected to be completed within the next year.

Okeni, in a statement in Benin City on Tuesday, made available to journalists, explained that the operational licence is the final stage of approval from the regulatory authority, which implies that the plant can now fully operate as a refinery.

According to him, “It starts from Licence to Establish (LTE), Licence to Construct (LTC), Approval to Introduce Hydrocarbon, pre-commissioning and commissioning, operating the refinery for some time to ensure it has the capacity to do so, and finally, the Licence to Operate (LTO).”

Addressing concerns over the alleged non-allocation of crude from the NNPCL, Okeni revealed that the refinery is finalizing arrangements with an indigenous oil company to access crude oil for optimal production capacity.

“We are finalizing a major crude supply agreement with an indigenous oil company. Although the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and NMDPRA have been supportive, once we find a source of crude, they will normally give us urgent approval. However, with this licensing, NUPRC ought to consider existing local refineries in the bidding round for marginal fields,” he said.