The DPR, in a statement, weekend, said: “In line with our commitment to entrench transparency in oil and gas regulation, we wish to make the following observations about private refineries: There are three stages of licensing for establishment of private refineries in Nigeria namely; Licence to Establish (LTE), Approval to Construct (ATC) and Licence to Operate (LTO).
“DPR granted LTE to 21 companies with a validity period of 18 months in 2002. In 2004, 17 of the earlier LTE were granted ATC for a 24-month validity period.”
The department said in 2007, it reviewed the existing guidelines and a new guiding document, “Guidelines for the Establishment of Hydrocarbon Processing Plants in Nigeria”, was introduced to ensure that only committed investors were licensed.
Based on these guidelines, there were 25 private refinery licences granted to companies with 21 in the Licence to Establish (LTE) category, while four in the Approval to Construct (ATC) category, the statement said.
The DPR added that three of the 25 licensed companies were billed to construct conventional stick-build plants and 22 to construct modular units with a proposed combined refining capacity of 1,429,000 barrels per day (bpd).
“The public and stakeholders are assured that DPR has not withdrawn the licence of any private refinery. Rather, the department is in alignment with government’s aspiration of improving Nigeria’s refining capacity by strengthening its oversight function of the petroleum sector in Nigeria,” it said.