The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is considering equity participation in a number of private refineries in the West African country
The decision follows the Federal Government’s policy directive, which stipulates the mandatory participation of the corporation in any privately-owned refinery that exceeds 50,000 bpd capacity.
As reported in the Marine and Petroleum, the directive aims to enable NNPC to uphold its statutory role of safeguarding national energy security.
In a statement in Lagos, Dr Kennie Obateru, group general manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, noted that the corporation had selected six refinery projects for equity participation. Of the, five are at the developmental stage. Obateru further added that the Dangote Refinery is the largest of them.
NNPC aims to stimulate the country’s economic growth with competent investors in the country’s oil and gas sectors, especially where it currently operated on a sole risk basis. It focuses on growing the in-country refining capacity, boost petroleum products supply from the local refineries and emerge as a net exporter of petroleum products, according to Obateru.
