The Federal Government (FG) said it was in the process of establishing 3 modular refineries in 6 of the country’s major oil-producing states in the Niger Delta including Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Edo, Delta, and Cross River.
This was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by the Minister of State for Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, who stated that it was aimed at halting illegal refining activities happening in oil-producing states and its negative impact on residents in the polluted locations.
She said, “In a bid to find alternative sources of livelihood for artisanal refineries and to encourage them to disengage completely from their illegal activities, the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and other critical stakeholders, are working on the establishment of three modular refineries per state in the oil-producing areas as a pilot scheme to engage them (artisanal refiners).
“These modular refineries are intended to be 100 percent designed and manufactured in Nigeria using the expertise of government institutions such as the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Federal University of Petroleum Effurun and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
“Others include Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Niger Delta Development Commission, Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Nigerian Content Development, and Management Board, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, etc.”
The minister stated that artisanal refining, oil theft, and pipeline vandalism were significantly responsible for the environmental degradation of the affected areas, especially in the Niger Delta region.
According to her, “The main objective is to enable those participating in illegal/artisanal oil refining to transit into operation of modular refineries to be run legitimately as a business under proper technical, commercial and environmental regulation.
“It is also the intention of government that other artisanal refineries that cannot be absorbed in the pilot modular refineries will be congregated into business clusters and Alternative Livelihood Fund in the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project be utilized to set up businesses for them, especially on the management on spent oil to engage them.
“These measures will help to drastically reduce the menace of artisanal refining, oil theft, and pipeline vandalism to the benefit of our environment and bring prosperity to the oil host communities in the Niger Delta and to our nation at large.”
She also stated that the National Oil Spill and Response Agency would annually conduct sensitization campaigns to enlighten host communities in the oil-producing states on the dangers of artisanal oil refining and other similar activities.
