About 35 interests have been declared for the construction of modular refineries in Nigeria, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, has said.
Of these interests, he disclosed that the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has issued licenses to about 13 firms to begin construction.
“I have been invited to the ground breaking ceremony of the first one in Bayelsa next month,” Dr. Baru says while speaking in Abuja Tuesday.
“The Federal Government and the NNPC would continue to encourage private sector initiatives that would bring in competition in the petroleum products supply and distribution network so as to guarantee energy sufficiency for the country,” he added.
Dr. Baru stated that other Greenfield refineries were to be brought on board soon in Kano and Kaduna, which would source their crude from Niger Republic.
According to him, the designs for the proposed refineries in Kano and Kaduna were ready, and their construction would commence this year.
Baru further hinted that the corporation was also exploring other sources of energy that could substitute petrol in cars and motorcycles, saying the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to power vehicles in Benin City, Edo state, is the right step in the right direction.
Over 3,000 vehicles are now CNG-powered in the ancient city, making them, more secured and efficient given that gas is a cleaner source of energy, the NNPC chief noted.
“Encouraging the development of infrastructure such as roads, railways and waterways are other means by which NNPC plans to lessen the pressure on petrol consumption,” the GMD added.