Nigerian National Petroleum Company to move ahead with first ethanol plant, in Ondo

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has approved development of the first commercial-scale plant in Nigeria. The Ondo state project will produce 145 Mgy of ethanol. Feedstock was not disclosed, but cassava has been reportedly the prime feedstock candidate.

Nigeria has been moving into high gear in ethanol production development. The Minister of Commerce and Industry said last month that Nigeria is building five new sugar plants and has the potential to become a leading ethanol producer. He noted new new sugar plants are being built in Jigawa, Bauchi, Taraba, Kogi and Lagos states.

Nigeria produces 50,000 tonnes of sugar out of a total consumption of 1.176 million tonnes. The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has requested a Presidential Initiative to construct six regional facilities producing 100,000 tons of sugar, 5 Mgy of sugar ethanol, and 25 MW of power for the factory and the national grid.

The government of Nasarawa State has allocated $27 million to improve agricultural production including ethanol processing. The state said that it would construct an Agro Export Conditioning Centre at Keffi and establish a cassava ethanol processing plant at Doma, in conjunction with international investors.

Recently, Oloche Edache, FAO regional representative for Africa, said that Nigeria will require a 70 to 80 per cent increase in food supplies to meet its food requirements by 2015. He added that the national emphasis on biofuels development, carried out as a part of Nigeria’s commitments under the Kyoto Treaty, would put upward pressure on agricultural prices for the next decade. Nigeria has planned $876 million in agricultural development funding over the next four years.

Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter

Related Stories

Global Biofuels announces $750 million investment in sweet sorghum ethanol project in Nigeria

In Nigeria, Global Biofuels has committed $750 million to the first series of ethanol plants in the country, which will use sweet sorghum as a feedstock and will be constructed in Ekiti State. The com...

Kwara Casplex to build 30.6 million tonne cassava ethanol capacity in Nigeria

In Nigeria, Kwara Casplex said that it will produce 30.6 million tonnes of cassava ethanol at new production facilities planned for Oyo and Ekiti states. The company said that it would sequester and m...

Nigeria’s Ekiti State gives 37,500 acres for cassava ethanol project; state aims to become biofuel hub

In Nigeria, Ekiti State has given 37,500 hectares of land to the Oke-Ayedun cassava ethanol project, for feedstock cultivation. The state governor also pledged to Chinese investors that the state wou...

Unlabeled shipment of E20 reaches Nigerian fuel market, causes widespread breakdowns

In Nigeria, the Department of Petroleum Resources has started an investigation into how a load of unlabeled E20 reached the fuel supply. After the E20 was loaded into untreated tanks containing ground...

Nigerian ethanol disaster results in sanctions on Oando, ban on Guvnor

In Nigeria, the federal government has placed sanctions on oil giant Oando, and banned Swiss importer Gunvor from the country, in the aftermath of a distribution of unlabeled E20. The 14,000 metric to...

Nigerian ethanol plant announced in Niger State for 2009

In Nigeria, it was reported that Niger State Government has inked a $314 million pact with OSPREY Investment for an ethanol plant. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2009. Niger State would h...