Nigeria plans to increase its oil refining ability with four new refineries that South Korean investors will build, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri. Each refinery will have a minimum production capacity of 100,000 barrels per day and will be built in different parts of the country.
This partnership between Nigeria and South Korea aims to decrease Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products and improve its outdated oil production facilities. Lokpobiri stated, “Nigeria is ready for business, and we invite investors to build refineries here.”
This development comes as Nigeria’s Dangote refinery, which started operating in May 2023, is now producing 650,000 barrels per day. Additionally, the Nigerian government intends to upgrade its existing refineries, including the one in Port Harcourt.
Lokpobiri revealed that the Nigerian government is using a partnership between the public and private sectors to attract investment in the midstream and downstream parts of the oil and gas industry. The government is also focusing on investing in smaller, modular refineries and other upcoming refineries to ensure energy security.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has created and released guidelines for domestic crude oil supply to make the oil industry more transparent and to help local refineries get the necessary materials.
Nigeria, which was once the biggest oil producer in Africa, didn’t have any refining capacity until the recent completion of the Dangote refinery.
These new refineries are expected to change Nigeria’s oil refining situation, reduce the need for imported petroleum products, and make the country a key player in Africa’s petroleum refining industry.
