The President of the Azikel Group, owners Azikel Modular Refinery in Bayelsa State, Dr. Azibapu Eruani, has said that the refinery is unique as it is the only one in Sub-Saharan Africa set to refine condensate apart from petrol, diesel and aviation fuel to contribute to the industrial base for petroleum sufficiency in the country.
Dr. Eruani, who disclosed this on Tuesday when Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri visited the refinery complex in Obunagha in Yenagoa Local Government Area, added that the refinery is worth over $850 million and currently has about 400 foreign and local employees at the site.
He explained that one of the reasons he established the refinery was to add value to the Nigerian crude oil, create employment and to industrialise the state.
He assured that the state would not have product scarcity when the refinery commences operation.
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The group’s president, who took the governor and his entourage on a tour of the facility, appealed for partnership with the state government to dualise the road leading to the complex for easy transportation of refined products.
Earlier, the Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri, stated that the President of the Azikel Group, Dr. Azibapu Eruani, has broken the jinx in establishing the Azikel Modular Refinery, which is the first crude oil-related industry in the state.
He commended Eruani’s business acumen, noting that the abundance of crude in the state would eliminate losses and other impediments to smooth operations of the refinery.
He also stated that the refinery had changed the status of the state in its industrialisation drive and that it met the dreams of its founding fathers.