By Danjuma Amodu | April 26, 2026
Waltersmith Petroman has completed the expansion of its modular refinery in Ohaji-Egbema, Imo State, doubling capacity from 5,000 to 10,000 barrels per day, and announced plans for a 30,000 bpd condensate refinery and an industrial park.
The firm showcased the upgraded facility during a visit by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, and the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Saidu Mohammed.
NCDMB took equity in Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited in 2018, catalyzing the project’s first phase, which was commissioned in November 2020. The Board also participated in the expansion, now operational and producing Automotive Gas Oil (diesel), Household Kerosene, Heavy Fuel Oil and Naphtha.
To date, the refinery has supplied over 1.1 billion litres of refined products to local and regional markets, strengthening energy security in Nigeria and West Africa. Most products go to the South-East and South-South, while HFO is exported to the West African sub-region.
The expansion comes as Nigeria races to end fuel imports following subsidy removal and Dangote Refinery ramp-up. Modular refineries like Waltersmith are seen as critical to decentralizing supply, especially in the South-East where distribution bottlenecks persist.
Representing the NCDMB Executive Secretary, Director of Legal Services Dr. Naboth Onyesoh described Waltersmith as a model for local content implementation, citing direct and indirect job creation, capital retention, import substitution and value addition to crude and gas resources.
NCDMB’s 2018 equity stake in Waltersmith was one of its first modular refinery investments under the Nigerian Content Act, a model it has since replicated with Azikel, Duport, and Atlantic refineries.
Waltersmith Petroman Chairman Abdulrazak Isa said the visit was to showcase the completed facility to NMDPRA’s new leadership and its partner NCDMB, and to unveil the next phase of development. He noted the company has grown from one oil field three decades ago to stakes in multiple fields, including Renaissance Africa Energy Ltd, which acquired SPDC’s entire assets in March 2025.
Isa announced two further expansion phases: a 30,000 bpd condensate refinery and an industrial park to host gas-based firms. Waltersmith will build a gas line to deliver 100 million standard cubic feet per day and provide embedded captive power to attract co-locating industries.
Partnership agreements for the condensate refinery are expected by Q4 2026, he said, with feedstock from the Ibigwe and Assa fields and nearby assets.
The Chairman said the firm is committed to investing in petrochemicals, leveraging access to gas and Naphtha, which he called “a key enabler of the economy.” He sought NMDPRA approvals for the various stages of the planned developments.
NMDPRA Chief Executive Saidu Mohammed commended the facility’s success and pledged the agency’s support for the expansion. He said the midstream sector holds the key to Nigeria’s economic development and described Waltersmith as “an octopus in the midstream sector,” urging the company to accelerate the condensate refinery.
Mohammed also praised NCDMB for partnering with Waltersmith on the project, which he said had become “a run-away success.”
