The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board says it has sealed a deal to acquire 20 per cent equity in the new 100,000 barrels per day refinery project being established by the African Refinery Group Limited in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The refinery is being established in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. It is located within the premises of the government-owned Port Harcourt refinery.
In a statement on Monday, the NCDMB disclosed that the share purchase agreement for the investment was signed on Thursday, and it will make the board “a key partner in the African Refinery Port Harcourt Limited, being co-located with Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, operated by the NNPC Ltd, in Alesa Eleme, Rivers State.”
It was disclosed that the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Ogbe, signed the agreement at the board’s liaison office in Abuja, while the Managing Director of African Refinery Port Harcourt Limited, Mr Tosin Adebajo, signed on behalf of the company.
The NCDMB boss remarked that the equity investment is the first to be sealed under his leadership.
He confirmed that the board subjected the proposal to rigorous technical, commercial, and regulatory reviews and decision gates, in line with NCDMB’s Commercial Ventures Investment Policy.
“The board has also instituted a robust corporate governance procedure that will safeguard its investment and ensure optimal performance of the refinery project.
“The deal is part of the board’s commercial venture programme, which is supported by section 70 (h) of the NOGICD Act, where NCDMB is charged to assist local contractors and Nigerian companies to develop their capabilities and capacities in furtherance of Nigerian content development in the oil and gas industry,” Ogbe said.
It was added that the board’s commercial venture investments are also geared to catalyse the Federal Government’s strategic policies, provide job opportunities in the construction and operation phases, and add value to the nation’s hydrocarbon resources.
The PUNCH learnt that the shares for the African Refinery Port Harcourt Limited project were purchased under the Nigerian Content Intervention Company LTD/GTE, a company limited by guarantee and wholly owned by the NCDMB.
Details of the investment indicate that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited holds a 15 per cent equity investment in the refinery project, having executed a share subscription agreement in 2024.
The promoters of the project, African Refinery Group, had in 2016 won a competitive bid to co-locate a crude oil refinery within the site of the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex and it executed an agreement to run and operate a 100,000 barrels per day refinery on 45 hectares of vacant land within the battery limit of the refinery complex.
The company also signed a sub-lease agreement with NNPC in 2019, giving it 45.466 hectares of land within the refinery complex for a tenure of 64 years.
“According to the investment plan, NCDMB will divest from the refinery at the end of the seventh year, counting from the commercial operations date.
“Some of NCDMB’s investments in refining of petroleum products include the Waltersmith 5,000 bpd modular refinery located at Ibigwe, Imo State; Azikel group’s 12,000bpd hydro-skimming modular refinery, at Gbarain, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State; and Duport Midstream’s 2,500 bpd modular refinery at Egbokor, Edo State, and they are at different levels of operations and development,” the statement added.
