Okechukwu Nnodim , Abuja
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Tuesday announced plans to establish a 100 , 000 -barrels -per -day brownfield refinery each in Port Harcourt , Rivers State and in Warri , Delta State .
It said the plan was part of its refinery collocation initiative designed to boost local refining capacity to end the era of petroleum products importation , adding that a group of investors had commenced the process of relocating a refinery that used to be owned by BP from Turkey to Nigeria .
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The Group Managing Director , NNPC , Maikanti Baru , disclosed this while speaking on efforts being made to achieve self – sufficiency in local refining besides the rehabilitation of Nigerian refineries .
According to a statement issued by the corporation ’s Group General Manager , Group Public Affairs Division , Ndu Ughamadu , in Abuja , Baru said that the refinery from Turkey would be relocated and installed near the Port Harcourt refinery under the NNPC refinery collocation initiative .
He was quoted as saying , “Our collocation initiative aimed at getting private sector investors to bring in brownfield refineries so that they can share facilities is also yielding results . For example , there is one that is going to be brought in from Turkey to be located near the Port Harcourt refinery .
“It’ s not a modular refinery ; it’s a normal refinery with about 100 ,00 bpd capacity. It was owned by the BP , but it has been sold off now to the companies that want to bring it over from Turkey to install it here .”
Baru further explained that a similar plan to establish a brownfield refinery near the Warri refinery was also in the offing .
“There is another one of about the same size being looked at to be sited near the Warri refinery . But the one for Port Harcourt is at a more advanced stage . Our drive at the NNPC , as a leader in the industry , is to expand our local refining capacity and make Nigeria a global refining hub ,” he said .
The NNPC. in an apparent response to reports of a possible resort to “proceed of gas tariffs” as a new means of funding because of purported collapse of negotiation with Chinese lenders , said the contractor finance arrangement was still intact .
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It said the Engineering Procurement Construction contractors and possible lenders were currently in Dubai to discuss the financing terms .