Refinery owners laud move to enforce crude supply to domestic refiners

The Crude Oil Refineries-owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN) has lauded the move by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to enforce domestic crude supply obligations.

The non-implementation of this has so far stifled some local refineries and hampered them from optimising production and making refined products available in the local market.

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NUPRC is the government body charged with the statutory responsibility of ensuring compliance with petroleum laws, regulations and guidelines in the upstream oil and gas sector. The discharge of these responsibilities involves monitoring of operations at drilling sites, producing wells, production platforms and flow stations, crude oil export terminals, and all pipelines carrying crude oil, and natural gas, amongst other statutory functions.

Momoh Oyarekhua, chairman of CORAN, following a meeting with NUPRC and producers and members of CORAN in Abuja, commended the commission for encouraging such discussion and being fair-minded in its conversation with producers.

Recall that last month CORAN held a meeting with the minister of state for petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri where the association sought the minister’s intervention to boost crude oil supply to members and also help them reduce the fees they pay to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for every litre of product they refine in-country.

Read also: CORAN intensifies demand for crude oil supply guarantees to members

CORAN also advocated for the establishment of a Refinery Intervention Fund to assist local refineries in expanding their capacity from the current 27,000 barrels per day to about 400,000 barrels per day. This follows a series of other consultations and meetings by CORAN with government agencies and representatives with a view to fostering the core issues affecting the local refining of crude in Nigeria.