AIPCC Energy Limited, the operator of Edo Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Limited (ERPCL), has expressed concern over the ongoing shortage of crude oil supplies despite being a fully operational refinery with a capacity of 1,000 barrels per day.
This comes some weeks after the announcement by Dangote Refinery that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) failed to enforce the supply of crude oil to its refinery.
According to a report by LEADERSHIP, the refinery is yet to receive any crude oil supply from the relevant authorities, highlighting the persistent challenges faced by the facility.
During a press briefing in Benin City in Edo State over the weekend, representatives of the Edo Refinery management revealed that the facility is grappling with substantial operational challenges stemming from a persistent shortage of crude oil supply.
According to Segun Okeni, a company representative, the refinery, which has a daily requirement of 1,000 barrels of crude oil, is struggling to operate at its full installed capacity due to the inadequate supply.
Segun Okeni stated that despite having crude oil supply agreements in place with Seplat and ND Western since 2022, the refinery has been unable to access the necessary crude oil due to bureaucratic hurdles.
He further alleged that in 2021, ERPCL had written to Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, following a series of meetings and consistent communication, but the letter was disregarded.
He said, “On 18th August 2021, our team led by our chairman, met with the NNPCL CEO and its top management team to discuss our intention to buy crude oil from NNPCL and we immediately wrote seeking crude supply. The letter was dated 22 July 2022.”
He continued, “In July 2022, the representatives of NNPC (from HQ Abuja and NPDC Benin) visited our facility for site inspection and to confirm the mechanical completion of the Edo refinery.
“In September 2022, we were invited for a commercial negotiation meeting with the NNPCL Head of terms, after which we sent a follow-up letter identifying the oil fields from which we can offtake crude oil.
“In March 2022, we also wrote to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, informing it of our refinery status, future projects and our challenges of lack of crude oil supply to our refinery.
“We had also written and had a meeting with the NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL) between November 2022 and March 2023, indicating our severe need for crude oil supply from oil fields where NEPL has equity stakes.”
Okeni emphasised that despite three years of persistent meetings, correspondence, and communication with NNPCL regarding the crucial issue of crude oil supply, no tangible actions or solutions have been forthcoming from the state-owned oil company.
Regarding the way forward, ERPCL emphasized that NNPCL and other producers must establish adequate loading infrastructure to facilitate truck loading, questioning the rationale behind Dangote’s allocation of 30,000 barrels per day (bp) while smaller refineries are neglected.
This, ERPCL argued, demonstrates a lack of support for smaller businesses that also contribute to economic growth.
ERPCL’s representative urged Mele Kyari, Group CEO of NNPCL to intervene and direct the Nigerian Upstream Information Management System (NUIMS) to honor the Seplat-ERPCL agreement, enabling Edo Refinery to commence lifting crude oil from the Oil Mining Licence.
