From Bassey Willie, Yenagoa and Muhammed Musbau, Lagos
The Waltersmith modular refinery in Imo state has supplied over 1.1 billion litres of refined products to local and regional markets since it was commissioned in 2020.
Chairman of Waltersmith Petroman, Mr. Abdulrazak Isa, disclosed this during the visit of the Executive Secretary Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe and the Authority Chief Executive (ACE) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Saidu Mohammed, to the facility at Ohaji- Egbema, Imo State.
The visit was to inspect the newly completed expansion of the firm's refining capacity, from 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10,000 bpd, the General Manager, Corporate Communications of NCDMB, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, said in a statement on Sunday.
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According to him, the refinery is helping to strengthen Nigeria's and West Africa's energy security and contributing immensely to the national economy.
He disclosed that the refinery supplies most of its products to the South-East and South-South parts of the country, while the HFO gets to the West African sub-region.
He said the company had grown from owning one oil field at inception three decades ago, to expanding to several fields, including owning stakes in Renaissance Africa Energy Ltd, which acquired the entire assets of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in March 2025.
He further announced the firm's plan to commence two further phases of expansion, which will include the construction of a 30,000 barrels per day condensate refinery and an industry park, which will accommodate other gas based firms.
He said the firm will develop a gas line that will deliver 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, and provide an embedded captive power, to attract industries to co-locate in the industrial park.
Plans are underway to conclude the partnership agreement for the condensate refinery by the 4th quarter of 2026 he said.
He added that feedstock for the integrated expansions will come from the Ibigwe and Assa fields, as well as from nearby fields.
He underlined the company's determination to invest in the petrochemical sector, leveraging on its access to gas and Naphtha, noting that the petrochemical industry is a key enabler of the economy.
He sought approvals from the NMDRA for the various stages of the upcoming developments.
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The Authority Chief Executive expressed his delight at the success of the facility and promised the agency's support to the company's expansion plans.
He said the midstream sector of the petroleum industry holds the key to the nation's economic development, adding that the establishment of such projects is the dream of every administration.
Mohammed also commended NCDMB for partnering with Waltersmith to develop the project, which had become a run-away success.
Speaking, the Director Legal Services NCDMB, Dr Naboth Onyesoh represented the Executive Secretary and conveyed the Board's delight at the success of Waltersmith modular refinery.
He described the firm as a model in local content implementation, especially in direct and in-direct job creation, capital retention, industrialization, import substitution and value addition to crude oil and gas resources.
