Osinbajo: Our new plan for Niger Delta is to accommodate Illegal Refineries; Sell crude directly to the operators

In a bid to solve the crisis of Niger Delta once and for all, the Federal government is proposing to explore the possibility of accommodating all the illegal refineries scattered in the region as well as the communities in her new vision for the region.

 The new vision is fallout of the series of visits by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo during which he met with all the stakeholders in the region including governors of the concerned states in the region.

 It is also the outcome of consultations Osinbajo held during his interactive engagements and when the subject of the illegal refineries came up for discussion and how the illegal refiners could be integrated instead of eliminating their operations.

 Fears are however rife of likely significant hurdles to be crossed especially issues around the engineering and technical ramifications of such a conversion, besides figuring out the financial models that would be workable and profitable.

 However, specific consideration on how to integrate local “illegal” refiners in the oil-producing communities into the Federal Government’s proposed modular refinery concept is now in progress with the Presidency and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Agency, NSIA, spear-heading efforts.

At a meeting late last week at the Presidential Villa, issues around technical and engineering implications of how to integrate the refiners were discussed with industry experts and practitioners making presentations on how to implement the Buhari presidency modular refinery initiative said to have been first proposed by Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.

 At the meeting the experts reported that they have worked closely with the NNPC, Oil & Gas operators, owners of marginal fields, operators of refineries and various technical services providers “to develop a workable system to develop this initiative,” a presidency source disclosed.

 A modular refinery is a refinery made up of smaller and mobile parts (skid-mounted) that are more easily fabricated and can be more quickly transported to site. They come in different sizes with varying capacities normally lower capacity than conventional refineries with more elaborate and complication set-up.

Under the plan being considered by the presidency, the Federal Government could supply crude to the local refineries at a reasonably considered price, as an incentive to stop the current practice whereby the illegal refineries vandalizes and steal the crude. This concept would also prevent the environment degradation that the spills and damaging the trunk lines have been causing.

 Also, marginal field operators can also supply crude to the new modular refineries that would have the illegal refiners integrated.

 Another important component of the plan under consideration is to involve the current illegal refiners and their communities as shareholders while the NDDC and the NSIA will also hold substantial holdings/equity sufficient to make the smaller refineries operational as a business and a going concern.

 To facilitate effective community engagements, an MOU would be established under the plan with the affected communities determining the community’s share, while the FG would supervise the implementation, which would be driven largely by industry operators and the communities.

 Mr. Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media & Publicity, and Office of the Vice President confirmed that a meeting was held last week on the issue adding that “presidency is actively working on all fronts to speedily deliver on its promise of a ‘new vision,’ in the Niger Delta”

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