The Azikel Petroleum Refinery is about five million litres of premium products daily project, which would address scarcity and ensure sufficiency, its President, Dr Azibapu Eruani said yesterday.
The $850m investment, according to Eruani, upon completion would be the major internal revenue stream to the Bayelsa State government and Nigeria, he added.
Eruani noted that the Azikel Refinery is 87 per cent completed, stressing that in the near future the value created would put smiles on the faces of the people of the state and Nigerians.
He made this known when Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri visited the refinery at Obunagha in Yenagoa Local Government Area for the first time.
“Azikel Refinery has closed the unemployment gap with the employment of over 400 indigenous and expatriate workers, while 250 are Bayelsans and other Nigerians. To ensure that youths employed in Bayelsa are proficient, management took time to train and improve their skills in tandem with best practices and modern refinery operations’’, Eruani said.
He emphasised the refinery’s mission to enhance the value of Nigerian crude oil, saying its establishment is aimed at generating employment opportunities and contribute to the local and national economy.
He noted that the completion of the refinery would mark a significant step toward the industrialisation of Bayelsa and Nigeria as a whole.
Diri said Eruani broke the jinx in establishing the Azikel Modular Refinery, which is the first crude oil-related industry in the state.
The governor commended Eruani’s business acumen, noting that the abundance of crude in the state would eliminate losses and other impediments to the refinery’s smooth operations .
He also stated that the refinery had changed the status of the state in its industrialisation drive and that it met the dreams of its founding fathers.
Diri said the refinery would improve the internally generated revenue of the state and create job opportunities for the youths.
He expressed delight that the project was nearing completion and that he would be part of the history of inaugurating the first modular refinery in the state..
The governor said: “Dr. Eruani has established a modular refinery here in Bayelsa State and not in any other state. Let me on behalf of the government and people of Bayelsa State congratulate you and thank you for this bold step to make our dreams come to pass.
“This is what our state’s founding fathers and all of us have been talking about. We cannot have crude oil and gas on our soil and not have electricity or industry in the state.
“You have broken the jinx and I am sure the younger generation will follow in your footsteps.
“Development is not done by the government alone. It is done in partnership with the private sector. That is why we are very glad that you are partnering with the state government in developing Bayelsa State. Like you rightly said, this will bring job opportunities here and taxes will be paid to the state government”.
