Nigeria aims to become a net exporter of petrol and other petroleum products over the next two years as oil refinery projects in the West African country come onstream, the industry regulator said on Tuesday.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) said five refineries are being built across the country and another seven are planned, which would reverse Nigeria’s dependence on imports.
A combined capacity of 375,000 barrels per day (bpd) is expected from 27 modular refineries, DPR Chief Executive Sarki Auwalu said in a statement, adding that 650,000 bpd are due from the oil refinery being built by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
The government has a 450,000 bpd capacity, he said, without saying when the projects will be completed.
The DPR aims to expand oil reserves to 40 billion barrels and gas reserves to 210 trillion cubic feet, Auwalu said, without providing a comparative figure.
Auwalu said the department would aim to grow oil production from its current 2.4 million bpd capacity to 3 million bpd production capacity and cut production costs. Reuters
