The Niger Delta is about to make history.Azikel Refinery, the $1 billion project led by Nigerian tycoon Dr. Eruani Azibapu, has reached its finishing stage in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. When completed, it will become the first private refinery in the Niger Delta capable of producing petrol and aviation fuel.The plant has been redesigned and scaled up to 25,000 barrels per day and is being built to full hydro-skimming standards. That means it can produce a full slate of products: premium motor spirit, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene and LPG at Euro V grade.Jobs, Skills, and Local Impact More than 700 engineers and technicians are currently on site, with most of them young Bayelsans and Nigerian engineers working alongside expatriate specialists.Azikel Group says the refinery will employ over 3,000 people directly and has already generated 80,000+ indirect jobs across the region.Chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Bayelsa branch, Mac Jokori, who toured the facility this month, called it “an engine of industrialisation, a catalyst for local capacity building, and a pathway to sustainable development for our youths.”
The Society pledged technical collaboration, internships, and mentorship to support the project.Bigger Than Planned Azikel was originally licensed in 2015 as a 12,000 bpd plant. After $259M in debt funding from Afreximbank in 2023, Eruani doubled capacity through value engineering.> “The Azikel Refinery licensed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 has now gone through several enhanced value engineering and redesign to a 25,000 barrels per day capacity. It is now a $1 billion investment,” Eruani said.The company says it is now Nigeria’s second largest full-slate refinery and the only plant in Africa designed to process condensate into a complete product range. A future expansion to 125,000 bpd is already planned.The Man Behind The Plant Eruani’s journey is unusual. Born in 1973, he trained as a doctor, worked at Nigerian Agip, and served as Bayelsa State Commissioner for Health before moving into business.He built Azikel Group from dredging into a conglomerate spanning aviation, power, agriculture and energy. By 2018 the group had revenues above $80M and 700+ employees.
His vision: turn Bayelsa into an industrial hub and prove that world-class refining can be done in the Niger Delta.No official start date has been announced yet, but with 700 engineers on site, the finish line is close.Location: Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria Capacity: 25,000 bpd | Investment: ∼$1 Billion Products: PMS, AGO, Jet Fuel, DPK, LPG_Source: http://Billionaires.Africa | Reporting by Ikeoluwa Ogungbangbe_#MadeInNigeria #AzikelRefinery #EruaniAzibapu #NigerDelta #AfrocaribbeanBusiness #EnergyAfrica
