Economy
FG grants licenses for 3 new petroleum refineries
The Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Resources Authority has issued refining licenses to three companies to build new refineries in Abia, Delta, and Edo States.
The three proposed refineries are expected to have a combined refining capacity of 140,000 barrels per day.
According to an X post by the NMDPRA on its official page, the proposed refineries that have issued licenses include:
Eghudu Refinery Ltd in Edo state issued a 100,000 bpd refining license.
MB Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Ltd in Delta State issued a License to establish a 30,000 bpd refinery.
HIS Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd. in Abia state issued a license to establish a 10,000 bpd refinery.
The statement read: “The Authority Chief Executive, Engr. Farouk Ahmed presented a License to construct a 100,000 bpd refinery to Eghudu Refinery Ltd in Edo state, a License to establish a 30,000 bpd refinery to MB Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Ltd in Delta state, and a License to establish a 10,000 bpd refinery to HIS Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd. in Abia state.
“These Licenses, which would add 140,000 barrels per day to Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity, were presented to the MDs of the companies.”
According to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria has nine operational refineries, which include the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company, and the Port Harcourt Refinery Company Limited.
Others are the Aradel Refinery, OPAC Refineries, Waltersmith Refinery and Petrochemical Company, Duport Midstream Company Limited, and the Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company.
These refineries have a combined refining capacity of 974,500 barrels per day, with the Dangote refinery having the largest capacity of 650,000 bpd. However, the majority of the refineries are not producing at full capacity.
According to the NUPRC, the nine refineries would require a combined daily crude supply of 770,500 bpd and 123,480,500 barrels in the first half of 2025.
This number is growing with more new refineries under construction and licensed by the NMDPRA.
Nairametrics reported that in January, the NMDPRA issued a license for the construction of a 10,000 bpd refinery in the Ughelli area of Delta State to MRO Energy Limited.
The growing number of refineries has positioned Nigeria as a major refining hub in Africa.
However, local refineries told Nairametrics that they struggle to secure crude locally despite assurances given by the Federal Government.
Credit: Nairametrics
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and other filling stations have increased their Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) pump price for the second time in less than 24 hours following Dangote Refinery’s gantry price hike.
The state-owned oil firm on Sunday adjusted its pump price from N967 to N1,082 per liter in Abuja and its environs, representing a N115 increase per liter.
This followed an earlier adjustment from N960 to N967. With the latest hike, NNPCL retail outlets have raised petrol prices by N207 in less than a week.
The latest prices have been implemented across NNPCL retail outlets in Kubwa Expressway, Gwarimpa, Wuse Zone 6, Zone 4, and Lifecamp.
Similarly, other filling stations, including MRS, AA Rano Ranoil, and Empire Energy, have adjusted their fuel pumps at least twice, with prices now ranging between N1,092 and N1,150 per liter, up from around N960 to N980 per liter.
Speaking on the fuel price hike, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, said the domestic petrol price increase is linked to global crude oil price volatility.
“The Dangote Refinery gantry petrol price hike and retail price adjustment are due to crude price volatility caused by the Iran–US–Israel conflict affecting the Gulf region,” he said.
He, however, called on oil sector regulators in Nigeria to intervene to prevent further petrol price volatility.
Recall that Dangote Refinery had increased its petrol gantry price by N121, from N874 to N995 per liter, as crude oil prices surged above $90 per barrel.
The naira ended the second week in a significant depreciation against the dollar in official and parallel foreign exchange markets.
On Friday, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the Naira further slipped to N1,393.26 per dollar, down from N1,387.45.
This means that on a day-to-day and week-on-week basis, the Naira dropped by N5.81 and N29.87, respectively, against the dollar. Meanwhile, in the last two weeks, the naira has slumped by N46.94 to the dollar at the official market.
Similarly, at the black market, the Naira dipped by N45 to N1,415 on Friday, down from around N1,370 per dollar on February 23, 2026, according to multiple Bureau de Change operators in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.
The local currency decline across foreign markets comes after the apex bank mopped up dollars from the market by way of intervention, a move that was confirmed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a recent remark.
The Nigerian naira on Tuesday continued to wobble against the dollar across official and parallel foreign exchange markets on Tuesday amid inaction by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
CBN data showed that it depreciated on Tuesday to N1,384.29 per dollar, down from N1,378.0246 on Monday.
This means that on a day-to-day basis, the Naira dipped by N6.26 against the dollar.
Similarly, at the black market, the Naira dropped by N10 to N1390 per dollar on Tuesday from N1380 traded on Monday.
Recall that the disparity between both foreign exchange markets stood at N5.71 per dollar as of Tuesday.
In more than eight days now, the naira has sustained depreciation against the dollar after the apex bank mopped up dollars from the market.
This comes despite the continued surge of the country’s external reserves, which stood at $49.69 billion as of February 27, 2026.
Recall that on Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu nominated Taiwo Oyedele, former of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, as Minister of State, Finance, a ministry supervised by Minister of Finance Wale Edun.
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