Ministerial nominee asks FG to build modular refineries to boost petrol supply

Henry Ikoh, a ministerial nominee, has advised the federal government to establish modular refineries in Nigeria Delta communities to help boost Nigeria’s petrol supply chain. 

The development comes amid the episode of fuel scarcity the country is currently battling. 

Modular refineries are crude oil processing facilities with capacities of up to 30,000 barrels of oil per day and require considerably lower capital investment than traditional full-scale refineries.

Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari asked the upper legislative chamber to confirm seven nominees, based on section 147 (2) of the constitution.

Ikoh said this on Wednesday while fielding questions from lawmakers.

“I’ll advise the federal government to ensure that it establishes refinery in the local community where they exploit crude oil,” Ikoh said. 

“If they do that and begin to introduce Modular Refinery in those communities, the issue of employment will be checked, the issue of importing fuel and gas will be a thing of the past and I know that this country can build modular refineries in most of the Niger Delta states.” 

The FG had said it was working to establish 18 modular refineries in Nigeria.

While speaking on debt status, Umana Okon Umana, another ministerial nominee, said: “On the issue of how to boost foreign exchange, I want to say that even the Free Zones platform is a veritable platform for this. The Free Zone is a platform that can drive production because when you produce for export, you earn foreign exchange.

“So we have to look at whatever is inhibiting production and address that but I think that the key is production.”