The management of AIPCC Energy Limited, operators of the Edo Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Limited (ERPCL), yesterday raised the alarm over the persistent lack of crude despite being a full functional 1,000 barrels per day stream crude oil refinery.
It said in spite of the disclosure by the Dangote Refinery on the refusal of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and the directive by President Bola Tinubu that the company should supply crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other Modular Refineries in the country in Naira denomination, the Edo Refinery was yet to get any from the relevant authorities.
Speaking to journalists in Benin-City at the weekend, the management of Edo Refinery situated at Ologbo in Ikpoba-Okha local government area of Edo State, said it was facing significant challenges due to persistent lack of crude oil supply.
Representative of the company, Segun Okeni, who spoke at the event, said the refinery, which requires 1,000 bpd stream crude can barely function at full installed capacity.
Okeni said though the company has had existing crude oil supply agreements with Seplat and ND Western since 2022, bureaucratic bottlenecks had prevented the refinery from accessing the much-needed resource.
