New Modular Refinery Delivers 5m Litres of Products

The newly-inaugurated 5,000 barrels (bpd) Waltersmith modular refinery has already delivered five million litres of refined petroleum products into the Nigerian market and economy, Chairman of Waltersmith Group, Mr. Abdulrazaq Isa, has said.

The refinery sited in Ibigwe, Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State had started churning out refined petroleum products as at November 3, 2020 after it had been certified due for refining operations by the industry regulator, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

The first privately-owned refinery in the country was inaugurated a few days ago by President Muhammadu Buhari, who also led the groundbreaking for the 45,000 bpd expansion, which is the second phase of the planned 50,000 bpd processing plant.

The facility was designed to produce 271million litres of products annually including diesel, Kerosene, Heavy Fuel Oil, and Naphtha, while the second phase of the refinery project is expected to produce petrol and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) commonly known as cooking gas.

In his welcome address at the occasion, Isa said the evacuation of these products in top quality and standards commenced on November 3, 2020 following statutory approvals graciously granted by the DPR.

He added: “This refinery has already delivered over five million litres of products into the Nigerian economy as of today. The expansion project which we are also breaking grounds today will be constructed in two phases, a 25,000bpd and a 20,000bpd condensate and crude processing plants respectively.

“We are now at the contract tendering stages and expect construction to be completed in about 24-30 months. The combined products expected at full capacity will include Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), and LPG in addition to the existing products mentioned above, contributing about 2.7billion litres of products per annum.