The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has denied revoking 32 refinery licenses issued to private companies in Nigeria.
Mr Paul Osu, Head, Public Affairs, DPR, made the clarification in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.
โWe wish to clarify that DPR did not revoke any refinery licence.
โRefinery licenses, like our other regulatory instruments have validity periods for investors to attain certain milestones.
โThis 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.
โThis does not in any way translate to revocation of licence of the company,โ Osu said.
According to him, the DPR in line with the aspirations of the government initiated the refinery revolution programme of the country.
He said it was aimed at boosting local refining capacity by enabling business and creating new opportunities for new investors with the granting of modular and conventional refinery licenses to investors. (Independent)