It said the objective was to halt the illegal artisanal refining activities going on in oil-producing areas and its impact on residents in the affected locations.
According to a report by The PUNCH, the Federal Government on Wednesday said it was working to establish three modular refineries in each of the oil producing states, particularly in the Niger Delta region. ..
Going by the plan, the government would have to establish about 18 refineries in the country’s six major oil producing states in the Niger Delta including Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo and Cross River.
It said the objective was to halt the illegal artisanal refining activities going on in oil producing areas and its impact on residents in the affected locations.
The Minister of State for Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, disclosed this in a statement issued by her ministry in Abuja.
She said, “In a bid to find alternative sources of livelihood for artisanal refiners and to encourage them to disengage completely from their illegal activities, the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and other critical stakeholders, are working on the establishment of three modular refineries per state in the oil producing areas as a pilot scheme to engage them (artisanal refiners).