NCDMB throws weight behind 100 kbd refinery project
- Stakes funds in 20% equity
Sopuruchi Onwuka
The push for local refining capacity expansion has become intense with Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) adding its weight to drive through a new 100,000 barrels per day (100 kbd) crude oil processing facility in Rivers State.
The industry regulator which champions retention of value in the domestic economy declared weekend that it is taking significant 20 per cent equity in the refinery project by African Refinery Group Limited in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
The share purchase agreement for the investment which was signed on Thursday will make NCDMB a key partner to African Refinery Port Harcourt Limited (ARPHL) whose plant is being co-located with Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, operated by the NNPC Ltd, in Alesa Eleme, Rivers State.
The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe signed the agreement at the Board’s liaison office in Abuja, while the Managing Director, African Refinery Port Harcourt Limited, Mr. Tosin Adebajo, signed on behalf of the company.
The NCDMB boss remarked that the equity investment is the first to be sealed under his leadership. He confirmed that the Board subjected the proposal through rigorous technical, commercial and regulatory reviews and decision gates, in line with NCDMB’s Commercial Ventures Investment Policy. The Board has also instituted a robust corporate governance procedure that will safeguard its investment and ensure optimal performance of the refinery project, he added.
The deal is part of the Board’s commercial venture programme, which is supported by section 70 (h) of the NOGICD Act, where NCDMB is charged to “assist local contractors and Nigerian companies to develop their capabilities and capacities” in furtherance of Nigerian content development in the oil and gas industry.
The Board’s commercial venture investments are also geared to catalyze Federal Government’s strategic policies, provide job creation opportunities in the construction and operation phases, and add value to the nation’s hydrocarbon resources.
The shares for the African Refinery Port Harcourt Limited project were purchased under the Nigerian Content Intervention Company LTD/GTE, a company limited by guarantee, and wholly owned by the NCDMB.
Details of the investment indicate that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Limited holds a 15 per cent equity investment in the refinery project, having executed a share subscription agreement in 2024.
The promoters of the project, African Refinery Group had in 2016 won a competitive bid to co-locate a crude oil refinery within the site of the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex (PHRC), and it executed an agreement to run and operate a 100,000 bpd refinery on 45 hectares of vacant land within the battery limit of the refinery complex.
The company also signed a sub-lease agreement with NNPC in 2019, giving her a 45.466 hectares within the refinery complex for a tenure of 64 years.
According to the investment plan, NCDMB will divest from the refinery at the end of the seventh year, counting from the commercial operations date.
Some of NCDMB’s investments in refining of petroleum products include the Waltersmith 5000 barrels per day (bpd) modular refinery located at Ibigwe, Imo State, Azikel group’s 12,000 barrels per day (bpd) hydro-skimming modular refinery, at Gbarain, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State and DuportMidstream’s 2,500 bpd modular refinery at Egbokor, Edo State, and they are at different levels of operations and development.
The Board’s investment with Waltersmith modular refinery was executed in 2018, and it served as the proof of concept. It operates optimally and provides refined petroleum products to its environs, creating hundreds of direct and indirect job opportunities.
The project is also a commercial success, as the holding company, Waltersmith Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited, posted a profit-after-tax of N23.6 billion in April 2024, for the year 2023, and total dividend of N4.5bn, pending final approval at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
NCDMB holds 30 per cent share in the company, and it received an interim dividend payment of N450 million out of the N1.5bn that was declared for the year ended 2023.
