Contrary to news making the rounds that Nigeria may soon become net exporter of refined petroleum products due to growing number of private refineries springing up here and there, only two out of 50 licencess can be said to be truly serious.
Details sourced from the official website of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) showed that out of the 50 compnaies whose licences were given since last two administrations, only Dangote Oil Refineries, Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos and Resources Petroleum & Petrochemicals International Incorporated located at Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State have reached meaningful levels of delivery.
However, Orient Refinery at Nsugbe, Anambra State and newly sealed deal to deliver Integrated Oil and Gas in a sleepy Island, off Apapa have started showing signs of seriousness in the last few months even though this was not captured in DPR website when Business Hilights visited on Tuesday.
It would be recalled that the Minister of petroleum resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had expressed disappointment at the situation whereby licencees abandon the terms and time frames for their refinery delivery which they signed with the government and divert investment to products imports.
Besides, it is important to remember that the present administration had at inception, given licences to about 26 companies and currently only four seem to be making head way. The key challenge, according to experts had been banks hostile approach to facilities.
Investigations carried out by our correspondent in largos and Port Harcourt showed that majority of tank farm operators are refinery licencees.
However, the worry prompted the minister to invite them to a meeting to ascertain what could be their challenges.
Though the outcome of the meeting was not made public, sources say many of them hinged their cold feet to forex crisis and fears of policy summersaults by the government.
