Edo Refinery Announces 80,000bpd Project Expansion, NMDPRA Concludes Assessment

*Desist from sabotaging FG’s efforts, oil sector regulator warns IPMAN

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City and Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

The  management of AIPCC Energy, owners of Edo Refinery has announced an 80,000 barrels per day refinery expansion in Koko, a border town between Edo and Delta States.

This was after the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) concluded its  crude distillation assessment on the project.
A statement yesterday  signed by the Head, Technical Operations, Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited (ERPCL), Mr Segun Okeni and made available to journalists in Benin City, said the company was expecting to export the first cargo from the refinery by May 2025.

Okeni, an engineer, listed the by-products of the Koko expansion as diesel, naphtha, and fuel gas, adding, among others, adding that the company was hopeful that by the time the plant is completed, the upstream regulator would have allocated crude to the refinery through the domestic crude supply obligation.
“We are pleased to announce the successful factory acceptance test conducted by NDMPRA on the crude distillation column of our 80,000 barrels per day refinery expansion in Koko, Delta State.

“We expect to export our first cargo from the refinery by May 2025. Assessment test was carried out from  September 18 to September 24, 2024.
“The by-products expected from the Koko expansion are AGO, HPFO, Naphtha, and Fuel gas.The Koko expansion project is  owned by AIPCC Energy, the owners of Edo Refinery.
“By this time, there would have been mechanical completion and pre start-up safety audit, and commissioning exercise would be completed,” the statement said.
Recall that the regulatory agency, NMDPRA,  had  earlier issued operational licence to Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited, Ologbo in Ikpoba-Okha local government area of Edo State.

Issuance of 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 regulatory 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).

Meanwhile, the  NMDPRA has warned the members of the  Independent Petroleum  Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to desist from any act that will sabotage the federal government’s efforts to ensure availability of the petroleum products across the country.
The Kogi State Controller, NMDPRA, Mr.Ogbe Godwin gave this warning while speaking in a chat with the members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kogi State Council in Lokoja at the weekend.

Ogbe explained that the warnings became imperative given the deregulation of the oil sector, noting that NMDPRA will not condone any act of sabotage to further inflict more hardship on the masses.
He stated the NMDPRA was mandated to regulate the activities of all the petrol filling stations in Kogi State, stressing that the Authority will not tolerate the selling of low-quality products in the state.
The State Controller described the adjustment of the metres, under-dispensing, black marketing, illegal sale of petrol outside the authorised filling stations, selling of fuel at odd hours and unwarranted reserve of fuel as criminal activities

He reiterated the commitment of the NMDPRA not to compromise the mandate, stating that any marketers found wanting would be sanctioned accordingly, have their facilities sealed and the owner’s licences would be revoked and be made to pay a fine.
“While we regulate, help in the process of obtaining licences and constant monitoring of inflow of petroleum as well as checking activities of the marketers, the authority under my watch will not compromise any act capable of adding more hardship on the innocent Nigerians,” he stated.

He added that some of the recalcitrant members of IPMAN who were caught cheating motorists by under-dispensing fuel had their filling stations closed down and paid fines for their criminal activities.
“Notwithstanding the challenges the marketers are facing in getting supplies and other related issues, we will not tolerate any act of indiscipline from them as sanctions await the defaulters”, he posited.