Oversight Functions: Hon. Osawaru And His Honorable Colleagues Of The House Of Representatives Committee On Petroleum Resources (Midstream) Paid A Working Visit To Edo Refinery, Ologbo

Oversight Functions: Hon. Osawaru And His Honorable Colleagues Of The House Of Representatives Committee On Petroleum Resources (Midstream) Paid A Working Visit To Edo Refinery, Ologbo

April 7th, 2025.

In a significant move towards enhancing the availability and affordability of Petroleum Products and the advancement of Nigeria's petroleum Midstream sector, the member House of Representatives representing Orhionmwon and Uhunmwode federal Constituency, Hon. Chief (Dr.) Billy Famous Adesuwa Osawaru, alongside his esteemed colleagues from the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream), has paid an oversight visit to the Edo Refinery and Petro-Chemicals Limited, Ologbo.

The oversight visit led by the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Prince Odi Okojie underscores the committee's commitment to ensuring that the nation's refining capabilities align with industry standards and effectively contribute to national economic development.

The Edo Modular Refinery, strategically located in Ologbo, Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State has an expandable daily refining capacity of 12,000 barrels of crude. It is a critical facility within the Nigerian oil and gas landscape. When fully operational, It will play a vital role in reducing the country’s dependency on imported petroleum products, breaking the monopoly in the production, refining, and distribution value chain, especially in the south-south region, creating healthy competition. It will also facilitate energy security and promote local content development. 

During the visit, the committee members were taken on a guided tour around the facility by the Management of the refinery, where they assessed the operational efficiency, infrastructural conditions, and overall compliance of the refinery with industry regulations, Safety, Health, and Environment.

While on the guided tour, the Management team of the refinery acquainted the House committee members with the prevailing challenges militating against the production and operational optimization of the refinery and also provided comprehensive insights into the operational processes and technological implementations. The committee engaged in constructive discussions regarding the refinery's capacity, production output, and the measures in place to meet domestic demand effectively.

Speaking to the press at the end of the visit, the chairman of the House Committee, Hon. Prince Odi Okojie noted that the oversight visit to the modular refinery has given members of the committee and the House of Representatives first-hand knowledge of the operational issues with the refinery which centered around lack of crude oil supply to the facility, describing it as unfortunate. As a committee, he said he has asked the Management of the refinery to send a detailed official report of their issues and areas of needed intervention to the Committee and that as soon as the report is received, the committee will look at it and swing in for further legislative action.

This position was also corroborated by Hon. Chief Dr. Billy Osawaru, who emphasized the importance of sustainable practices in the petroleum industry, highlighting the fact that Crude is the raw material needed for the refinery to operate. "Incidentally, storage, processing of crude, and refining falls within the purview of the midstream sector of the petroleum industry which is the focus of the committee. Where there is no supply of crude to the refinery, the capacity and benefits of the refinery will not be optimized..." He added.

Finally, the Management team of the refinery thanked the federal lawmakers for the oversight visit. They promised to do the needful and expressed confidence in the hopes of their intervention. Hon. Osawaru reassured the team of the committee's commitment to supporting initiatives that would further strengthen Nigeria's refining capacity.