The rising scale of crude oil theft, ageing infrastructure, and years of underinvestment, which has led to shut in of many oil facilities, has made it difficult for promoters of modular refineries to get feedstock to run their refinery operations in Nigeria. The lack of feedstock has also deterred investment in modular refineries, undermining the target of having over 20 functional modular refineries to boost petroleum products in the country.
Thus, aside from the industry challenge, Analysts observed that the slog in drafting regulations on domestic crude oil supply obligation, as provided by the PIA, contributed to the hostile environment for modular refineries in the country. The situation has affected oil processing at Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Limited and stalled the progress of Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited, Duport modular refinery, and OPAC refinery. Amidst the challenges, analysts consider modular refineries critical to making Nigeria a refining hub for Africa.
