By Nelson Utip
The Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited Ologbo in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State has been issued an operational license by The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority NMDPRA, the license was presented by The Chief Executive Officer of the regulatory authority, Ahmed Farouk to AIPCC, the parent company of Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited (ERPCL).
Accompanied by the Executive Director (ED), NMDPRA, Hydrocarbon Processing Plant Installation and Transport Infrastructure (HPPITI), Francis Ogaree, Farouk presented the operational licence to the refinery Head of Technical Operations, Segun Okeni.
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The CEO commended the company for this achievement, urging them to do more.
The NMDPRA Executive Director during the occasion assured the management of the refinery of the regulatory authority of it’s readiness to give AIPCC Energy/Edo Refinery all the necessary support in all its projects.
Responding, Okeni assured the regulatory agency of it’s willingness to make her contributions to the petroleum refinery and gas processing subsector, he clarified that the operational licence was the final stage of approval, implying that the company can now fully operate as a refinery.
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“It starts from License to Establish (LTE), Licence to Construct (LTC), Approval to introduce Hydrocarbon, pre-commissioning and commissioning, operate the refinery for some time to ensure it has the capacity to do so and finally the Licence to Operate LTO.
“We are finalising a major crude supply agreement with an indigenous oil company. Although the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and NMDPRA have been supportive, once we find a source of crude, they will normally give us urgent approval. However, with this licensing, NUPRC ought to consider existing local refineries in the bidding round for marginal field.” He said. The Issuance of an operational licence is the last stage of approval from the regulatory authority, giving the plant the authority to fully operate as a refinery.
