Another Billionaire Set to Complete $1 Billion Refinery in Nigeria
Nigeria may soon have another operational refinery as billionaire businessman Azibapu Eruani’s Azikel Refinery in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, enters the final stage of construction.
The facility, which is expected to cost about $1 billion, has been redesigned to process 25,000 barrels of crude oil or condensate per day, up from its originally approved capacity.
The refinery is currently being completed by about 700 engineers and other workers, with many of them young Bayelsans and Nigerian engineers working alongside expatriate specialists.
According to Eruani, president of Azikel Group, the refinery is designed as a full-slate hydro-skimming facility capable of producing petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas and other refined products.
The project is expected to employ more than 3,000 people once operational, while it has already generated over 80,000 indirect jobs.
Mac Jokori, chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers in Bayelsa, described the refinery as a major development for Nigeria’s refining sector, saying it would support industrialisation, local capacity development and employment.
Eruani said the facility’s ability to process both crude oil and condensate into a wide range of petroleum products is one of its major features. He described it as Nigeria’s second-largest full-slate refinery and the only refinery in Africa designed to convert condensate into a complete range of refined products.
The company is also reportedly planning to expand the refinery’s capacity to 125,000 barrels per day in the future.
Refinery Capacity Increased
The project has undergone significant changes since it was initially approved in 2015.
In November 2023, Azikel Petroleum secured a $259 million debt funding agreement with the African Export-Import Bank for a 12,000-barrel-per-day hydro-skimming refinery.
However, Eruani said the project later underwent further value engineering and redesign, increasing its capacity to 25,000 barrels per day and raising the total investment to about $1 billion.
“The Azikel Refinery licensed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 has now gone through several enhanced value engineering and redesign to a 25,000 barrels per day capacity. It is now a $1 billion investment,” Eruani said.
Azikel Petroleum contracted US-based oil services company McDermott for feasibility studies and construction work on the refinery.
With construction now approaching completion, the project is expected to add to Nigeria’s growing refining capacity and reduce reliance n imported petroleum products.
