FG reacts to reports of revoking 32 refinery licenses

The Federal Government has denied revoking 32 refinery licenses that were issued to some private companies across the country.

The reaction follows reports making the rounds in some section of the media that the government has revoked some refinery licenses that it had earlier issued within a period of 3 years.

This clarification is contained in a statement issued by the Head, Public Affairs of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), on behalf of the agency on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, in Lagos.

The DPR said that the refinery licenses have validity periods for the investors to achieve certain milestones and would become inactive after its expiration until the company reapplies.

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What DPR is saying

The DPR in its statement said, “We wish to clarify that DPR did not revoke any refinery licence. Refinery licenses, like our other regulatory instruments, have validity periods for investors to attain certain milestones.

This implies that after the validity period for the particular milestone, the licence becomes inactive until the company reapplies for revalidation to migrate to another milestone. This does not in any way translate to revocation of the licence of the company.”

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The DPR, in line with the aspirations of the government, initiated the refinery revolution programme of the country to boost local refining capacity by enabling business and creating new opportunities for new investors with the granting of modular and conventional refinery licenses to investors.

He emphasized that the regulatory agency would continue to support investors in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria using its regulatory instruments such as licences, permits and approvals to stimulate the economy and align with the government’s job creation initiatives.

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In case you missed it

Earlier on, some media reports suggested that the DPR had revoked refinery licenses that were issued to some companies for being inactive beyond the validity period. These refineries include modular refineries and conventional plants.