Dpr Gives Approval For New N26bn Refinery In Lagos

BEVERLY HILLS, February 18, (THEWILL) – The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has given Integrated Oil and Gas Limited, an indigenous company, licence to begin preliminary work for a 20,000 capacity modular refinery on the Lagos coast, estimated to cost between $75 – $250 million.

Emmanuel Iheanacho, CEO of the company, revealed this to journalists in Lagos, saying the company upon receiving the preliminary approval from DPR had commenced work on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), one of the series of steps required to obtain full approval.

“If you go to the DPR website, you will see all the terms and conditions for granting of refinery licences. The DPR gives you license in stages, it gives you licence to establish, licence to construct and after that it gives you licence to operate,” Iheanacho said.

According to Iheanacho, his company is working on other necessary requirements needed before the final approval for the refinery to be granted.

“The DPR will give you licence based on the technology that is used for refining and your ability to give then very good presentation on that subject matter,” he said.

DPR regulations require that a successful application must complete a cycle of three licensing stages before a plant can be commissioned for operations. The plant must obtain a licence to establish, and licence to operate the plant, whether for petroleum refinery, petrochemicals and gas processing plant.

These licenses must be obtained within a period of two years after which the application would lapse.

He said his company had met with major stakeholders to ensure the success of the project, including traditional rulers of the host communities.

He debunked 'insinuations' that the construction of the refinery had started, reiterating that the company was only just now going through pre-application process.

Story by David Oputah