National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
By: Amos Okioma
The Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru has called for sustained
encouragement owing to the remarkable pace of work at the Azikel
Refinery site, even as it lauded the President of Azikel Group, Dr
Azibapu Eruani for having achieved 65% completion on the phase I, II
and III stages.
This, the Group Managing Director, represented by Shehu Malami,
Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company, said at the
foundation laying of the Azikel Refinery performed by former President
Olusegun Obasanjo in Yenagoa.
He shared the optimism that the refinery construction would be
completed soon to begin onward dispensing of refined petroleum product to the public.
According to him, works on the perimeter fencing, loading gantry,
security unit and the administrative building has attained appreciable
level of completion; the core refining modules of the ISBL fabricated
in Houston, USA would be freight on skid and coupled at the refinery
site.
He pointed that the 12, 000 barrel per stream day (bpsd)
hydro-skimming refinery would produce petrol, diesel, aviation fuel,
LPG and heavy fuel oil.
The GMD, however, lauded the signing of the certificate of occupancy
of the Azikel Refinery and Azikel Power Project acquired land by State
Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson witnessed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his humble self.
He noted that of the 22 refinery licenses granted by President
Muhammadu Buhari, Azikel Refinery is in the forefront of ensuring that
Nigeria attains self-sufficiency in petroleum products.
The Group Managing Director pledged that NNPC will continue to support the project towards completion and lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for the policy towards improving production of refined petroleum product to ensure availability in all parts of the country.
‘’I am optimistic that the combine effort of the NNPC and output from
private refineries would impact positively on capacity and improved
production of petroleum product in the country.
Malami emphasized that the Azikel refinery is well poised to meet the
mandate of increase refining capacity, even as he noted that Nigeria
stands to benefit a lot from the initiative.
He reasoned that net exportation of petroleum product target would be
met in 2019; and that more Greenfield refinery would make Nigeria a
dependable economy, even as he noted that sequel to the synergy with
the private refineries, particularly the Azikel Refinery Nigeria the
hydra-headed problem of fuel scarcity, long vehicular queues and
importation, as well as unemployment would end soon.
To this end, he however congratulated the Group President of Azikel
Group for building a new private refinery and prayed that the laudable
steps taken and work done would motivate and serve as a veritable
road map for others to join in the onerous task of industrializing the
nation on the part of economic recovery.
