The Nigerian government has presented a licence for establishing the Belema Sweet Export Terminal, Nigeria’s first private crude oil terminal.
The first company to obtain the permit was Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Exploration and Production Limited, however, it is owned by the government.
Nigeria now has its first hybrid crude export terminal with a storage capacity of eight million barrels thanks to the most recent licence grant.
The licence was delivered to the CEO of Belema Oil Producing Limited, Mr. Tein Jack-Rich, by the Nigerian Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on behalf of the Federal Government.
Rivers-born Jack-Rich was a presidential aspirant under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) platform in 2022.
Presenting the licence to Jack-Rich, the CEO of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
The NMDPRA boss explained that except under the appropriate licence by his agency, no company or entity had the right to engage in any exploration activity in the country except the two companies.
He claims that the terminals must function in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the licencing terms as stated in the document.
He urged investors to do so and added that the government was committed to creating a business-friendly environment for them.
At the ceremony, Jack-Rich stated that the occasion was a key turning point for the nation and a testimonial to President Bola Tinubu’s achievement after less than two weeks in office.
”This will also create over 100,000 jobs for families in the Niger Delta and Nigeria at large,” Jack-Rich said.
The project’s first phase will comprise a 2,000,000 million barrels storage capacity.
