Chairman, IPPG and MD/CEO of Aradel Holdings Plc, Mr Adegbite Falade, at the 3rd Nigeria Oil Refining Summit in Lagos
Domestic refineries to need 1.5m bpd in medium term– IPPG
The Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) says domestic refineries may require more than 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) in the medium term.
The Chairman of IPPG, Mr Adegbite Falade, said this at the third Nigeria Oil Refining Summit (NORS) 2026 on Monday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the summit had as theme “Refining For Value: Linking Upstream Supply to Downstream Demand”.
Falade, who is also the Managing Director of Aradel Holdings Plc, said the rising refinery demand would require corresponding growth in crude production.
He said Nigeria’s liquid production stood at about 1.68 million bpd as of August, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Falade said the projected demand would leave a narrow margin between available production and volumes required for exports and other upstream commitments.
He said the margin could be further affected by production outages, crude grade mismatches, OPEC commitments and evacuation disruptions.
“This is why the upstream industry must be placed at the centre of the refinery conversation,” he said.
Falade said Nigeria had about 37.01 billion barrels of crude oil and condensate reserves and 215.19 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves as of Jan. 1.
He, however, said converting the reserves to sustained production was critical to meeting rising domestic demand.
“That conversion requires capital. It requires fiscal stability. It requires security. It requires infrastructure. Nigeria cannot refine barrels that are not produced,” he said.
Falade said the solution was not to redistribute limited crude among competing users, but to grow production.
“The answer to rising domestic refining demand is not merely to redistribute a limited pool. The answer is to create more barrels,” he said.
He called for increased exploration and field development, stronger output from marginal assets and investment in crude evacuation infrastructure.
Falade said refinery feedstock must meet the right grade, volume, quality, location, timing and commercial terms.
He said stronger upstream production, reliable evacuation and a transparent domestic crude market would support Nigeria’s ambition to become a regional refining and petrochemical hub.
NAN reports that the summit brought together refinery owners, upstream producers, regulators, policymakers, investors and other stakeholders in the oil and gas value chain.(NAN)
