TheCable

Two oil firms, Mid Oil and South Atlantic Petrochemical Company, have sent proposals to the Lagos State government towards establishing refineries in the state.

The two firms are proposing a 100,000-barrel-per-day refinery each, to be located at Ejinrin and Badagry, respectively.

The firms have received the nod of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) —the industry regulator — and are hoping to get same from the state government, which is studying the proposals through its Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The ministry has expressed its concerns over the type of environmental degradation that has befallen the Niger Delta, and has therefore prioritised Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the location of the refineries.

If the firms’ proposals are successful, Lagos would be leading other states in terms of the number of oil refineries established in a particular state in the country, as the latest two will bring to three, the number of oil refineries being expected in the state.

Dangote Group had already sealed a deal with the Lagos State government and relevant Federal Government agencies to establish an oil refinery/petrochemical plant to be sited within the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Ibeju/Lekki area of Lagos state.

The group is investing about $9 billion in the deal, and it presently has four refineries in the country, two in Rivers State and one each in Delta and Kaduna States, with a total capacity of 445,000 barrels per day.

The Lagos State government has shown more interest in the oil and gas sector, establishing the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources three years ago, before going on to found the Lagos Oil and Gas Corporation, in a bid to optimise the benefits of oil and gas in the state and the country.