NNPC Promise To Build Three More Refineries

The executive director of refining and petrochemicals, Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Philip Chukwu, has revealed that the corporation was planning to build three more refineries.
He said the capacity of the projects would be 885,000 barrels per day (bpd) with a price tag of $25 billion. Although Chukwu, who spoke yesterday, could not say when the projects would kick off, said they were at the conceptual stages.

The executive director of refining and petrochemicals, Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Philip Chukwu, has revealed that the corporation was planning to build three more refineries.
He said the capacity of the projects would be 885,000 barrels per day (bpd) with a price tag of $25 billion. Although Chukwu, who spoke yesterday, could not say when the projects would kick off, said they were at the conceptual stages.
According to him, “We are just at the conceptual stages. Until we have the concept properly established, I do not think I can give you a date for that. We are still discussing with our partners."
NNPC had said that the plants would be built by 2014, although analysts and industry experts questioned those targets.
The three additional refineries are expected to triple refining capacity to 1.3 million bpd and bring the nation closer to a declared aim of eliminating its dependence on fuel importation in the next few years.
Meanwhile, Chukwu said the four existing refineries were performing at only 30 per cent capacity due to problems with feedstock. "The extraordinary maintenance is to look at all the things that went wrong over the years and then begin to fix them. We are currently procuring equipment," he told reporters on the sidelines of an African Refiners Association meeting.
The upgrades will be followed by routine maintenance work, he said. "By the time we would have done all that by the end of next year, we should operate at 60 per cent capacity in all of the refineries," he said.