The Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), the umbrella body of local refiners have appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to create a crude refinery intervention fund similar to the agricultural credit fund or the pharmaceutical fund domiciled at the apex bank to drive effective business operations in the country.
They have also appealed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to consider taking equity or grant loans to modular refineries through the provision of reformer and other requirement units to ensure adequate production of petrol based on agreed offtake conditions.
CORAN members are seeking the support of the CBN and NNPC for the extension of all incentives and assistance given to Dangote Refinery to them.
CORAN members led by their Board of Trustee’s Chairman, Emmanuel Iheanacho, made the appeal during their visit to the leadership of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja.
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They urged the NNPC, NMDPRA and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to engage with the licenced modular refineries in order to develop an appropriate commercial model that would guarantee reliable feedstock.
The Secretary of CORAN, Olusegun Ilori, who presented CORAN’s position, appealed to the authority to ensure that all incentives that were given to Dangote Refinery are also extended to other refineries.
CORAN also stated that NMDPRA’s renewal fee for modular refinery license guidelines be revisited and possibly reduced by way of 50 per cent waiver.
They suggested that such review should be on the company-by-company assessment, and granted to only companies with credible challenges.
CORAN further suggested that annual monitoring of modular refineries be carried out by the authority to ensure compliance with government policies.
