Nigeria has granted 30 construction licences to private refineries in order to cut the country’s reliance on imports. According to the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, quoted by Bloomberg, the Federal Government wants to encourage private refineries so as to cut Nigeria’s dependence on imports.
The private refineries will be built near the state-run units to enable them benefit from the available infrastructure, he said adding that the main medium term target is to get cheaper pump-price oil as imports of refined petroleum will decrease. Nigeria’s government also plans to split an oil- industry bill stuck in parliament for seven years and resubmit it to lawmakers after it held up reforms and deterred investment in Africa’s largest crude producer.
The bill, first presented to parliament in 2008, will be resent to lawmakers in the first quarter of 2016.
Nigeria, which has a 180 million strong population, subsidizes fuel and more than 70% of its supply is imported. While some refineries in Warri and Kaduna have been closed, two out of the four state-owned oil refineries with a joint capacity of 210,000 bbls/d in the southern part of Port Harcourt currently produce at 67% of capacity.