By Adedapo Adesanya
The management of AIPCC Energy Limited, operators of the Edo Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Limited (ERPCL), has raised the alarm over the persistent lack of crude oil supply despite being a fully functional 1,000 barrels per day stream refinery.
The development comes after the Dangote Refinery opened up on the refusal of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and the directive by President Bola Tinubu that the company should supply crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other modular refineries in the country in Naira denomination, the Edo Refinery was yet to get any from the relevant authorities.
Speaking to journalists in Benin City over the weekend, a representative of the refinery situated at Ologbo in Ikpoba-Okha local government area of Edo State, Mr Segun Okeni, said it was facing significant challenges due to persistent lack of crude oil supply.
He said the refinery, which requires 1,000 barrels per day stream of crude can barely function at full installed capacity, even though the company has had existing crude oil supply agreements with Seplat and ND Western since 2022.
He revealed that bureaucratic bottlenecks had prevented the refinery from accessing the much-needed resource.
He alleged that in 2021, ERPCL addressed a letter to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari, after a series of meetings and constant communication with him did not hear much fruit.
“On August 18, 2021, our team led by our chairman, met with the NNPC GCEO and its top management team to discuss our intention to buy crude oil from NNPC and we immediately wrote seeking crude supply.
“In July 2022, the representatives of NNPC visited our facility for site inspection and to confirm the mechanical completion of the Edo refinery. In September 2022, we were invited for a commercial negotiation meeting with the NNPC head of terms, after which we sent a follow-up letter identifying the oil fields from which we can offtake crude oil.
“In March 2022, we also wrote to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, informing it of our refinery status, future projects and our challenges of lack of crude oil supply to our refinery.
“We had also written and had a meeting with the NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) between November 2022 and March 2023, indicating our severe need for crude oil supply from oil fields where NEPL has equity stakes,” he stated.
He noted that despite the meetings, correspondences and communications with NNPC over the past three years on the issues of crude oil supply, nothing has been done and called for a quick resolution.
Dipo Olowookere