By Ikenna Omeje

The chairman of Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company (ERPC), Michael Osime has said that the Edo modular refinery will, at full capacity, meet 100 percent of Nigeria’s low pour fuel oil (LPFO) or black oil demand.

In a statement on Monday, Osime said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will have to remove the product from its foreign exchange list when the company meets the local demand for LPFO.

“The modular refinery has achieved 95 percent mechanical completion. The pre-commissioning activities are expected to commence soon,” Osime said.

“Our expansion programme to 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) will save in excess of $350 million in foreign exchange per annum.

 “The facility will also meet 100 percent of the demand for LPFO per annum. Therefore, with our production capacity, the CBN can remove LPFO from the foreign exchange list.

He also commended the federal and state governments for their support which led to the speedy realisation of the project.

“On behalf of the management of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor and staff of ERPC, I would like to express our gratitude to the federal government of Nigeria for creating good business environment under the ease of doing business programme and fiscal incentives such as duty waiver.

 “We appreciate the Edo state government for giving support of N700 million and good business environment and our host community, the Ologbo community.”

Low pour fuel is used in steam generation by labour intensive companies like textile manufacturing companies, food and beverages and construction companies.

As a result of the deplorable state of the government owned refineries in the country, over 90 percent of refined petroleum products used in the country are imported, which many economic analysts say is a drain on the country’s foreign exchange. This has led to the Federal Government encouraging businesses and states to invest in modular refineries to eradicate illegal refineries and slowly end the importation of refined petroleum products.

The director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) Sarkin Auwalu had said recently that with five built refinery plants across the country and seven in the making, Nigeria will be a net exporter of petroleum products in the next two years.

According to him,   the feat would be achieved through the combined capacity of 375,000 barrels per day from 27 modular refineries, 650,000 barrels from the Dangote refinery and the 445,000 barrels from the government refineries.