President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to reversing Nigeria’s status as a net importer of refined petroleum products, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has said.
Sylva stated this Wednesday after inspecting the first hydro-skimming private modular refinery being built by businessman, Dr. Azibapu Eruani in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
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The refinery, which is about 75 per cent completed, has the capacity to process 12, 000 barrels of crude per day.
In a statement by spokesman, Austin Ebipade, the minister noted that Azikel hydro-skimming refinery is a massive visionary and pragmatic quest to facilitate the Federal Government’s objectives towards attaining self-sufficiency in the production of refined products such as petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and liquified petroleum gas (LPG).
The statement quoted the minister to have said: “The Azikel Refinery is set to actualise the ‘export’ of refined products from Bayelsa State to other states in the Nigerian federation, with daily production of 1.5 million litres of petrol, one million litres of diesel 500,000 litres of kerosene and aviation fuel, thereby reversing of the stigma of Nigeria, the world’s fifth largest producer of crude oil being a net importer of refined products.”
Dr. Eruani, the President of Azikel Petroleum refinery hailed Buhari for granting the company the license and pledged to work towards actualising the Buhari administration’s objective of industrialisation.
