Nigeria to Commence Urea Exports by 2028 — NMDPRA

The Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has announced that Nigeria is on course to begin exporting urea by 2028, as part of a broader plan to position the country as a major hub for value-added products in the oil and gas sector.

The Chief Executive of the authority, Saidu Mohammed, disclosed this after leading a tour of facilities at Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemicals Limited in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State. He also said Nigeria would soon commence large-scale fertilizer exports.

Mohammed explained that the visit to Indorama formed part of a three-day inspection tour of selected midstream and downstream facilities across Rivers State, aimed at assessing current operations and investment prospects in the sector.

Describing the midstream segment as critical to Nigeria’s industrial future, he said massive capital investment was required for the country to fully harness its potential.

“The midstream of the oil and gas business is really a tremendous segment that requires a lot of investment. We need $30 to $50 billion today if we must get what we need to get Nigeria on the right footing as the hub not only for the oil and gas, but whatever secondary recovery we can have,” Mohammed said.

He added that Nigeria should no longer rely on imports of refined and value-added products, given the scale of investments already being made by private companies.

“Value addition products like the fertilizers, Uriah, and what have you; we have no business importing any of those things and behold, with the expansion of what is going on today at Indorama and many other places including Dangote fertilisers, I am sure that in the next 24 months Nigeria will join the league of Uriah exporting countries and that is where we should be.

“And not only being a hub for energy but also being a hub of secondary derivatives of oil and gas.”

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Mohammed said the investments by Indorama represented the kind of industrial expansion Nigeria needed to drive economic growth and industrialisation.

“It is really a manifestation of what Nigeria needs to have. We need a lot of these in the midstream. Definitely fertilisers, plants, and any value addition that we have on the Hydrocarbon sources is what is needed for this nation to propel,” he said.

He also explained that Rivers State was chosen as the starting point of the tour because of its strategic role in Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain, hosting key national assets such as refineries, manufacturing facilities and processing plants.

“You know the midstream and downstream segment of Nigeria and Rivers State has a lot of them. There is no sample that we cannot take; if we want to see anything in the gas process, we will. If we want to see anything about the manufacturer, we shall. If we want to see any of the refineries, we can.

“So we have selected just a few for us to be able to have an overview of what is going on, and that is the main mission.

“The authority is there to facilitate, for us to continue giving them the support that they need, to create the environment for them to continue to add on the investment, while we are attracting more and more investments to grow. That is the whole essence.”

In his response, the Chief Executive Officer of Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemicals Limited, Munish Jindal, said the tour was significant as it allowed the regulator to better understand the realities of midstream operations.

He said Indorama had operated in Nigeria for over two decades and acknowledged Mohammed’s past role in the company’s establishment.

“We thank the authorities for the understanding that they have developed all these years for the midstream industry. In the beginning, when we came, it was a big challenge for us to make them understand the set of problems, how we operate, and what is more critical for us. I think that understanding has evolved in the past 18 years.

“We are appreciative of the new regulators, and we fully support that; however, there are one or two issues that many believe would benefit our oil and gas industry, and they are no longer relevant to midstream companies like us.

“However, we have made a keen request to the authority to kindly look into it, and see that this is not relevant in the manufacturing industry, if we are given an exemption.”

The NMDPRA tour of midstream and downstream facilities in Rivers State is expected to conclude on Friday after further visits to other companies in the sector.