The much awaited refinery to be sited in Kogi state will soon become a reality.
It emerged yesterday that construction works on the much-awaited three Greenfield Refineries in Kogi, Lagos and Bayelsa States will commence in July 2012, one year behind schedule.
According to Thisday, the plants are still to be built in Lokoja, Kogi State capital and Brass in Bayelsa as originally planned.
However, the plants in Kogi and Bayelsa will now have the capacity for 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) each, while the one to be located in Lekki, Lagos, will have the capacity for 200,000 bpd.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) Limited in May, last year, signed an agreement for the joint sourcing of funds for the construction of the three new Greenfield Refineries and a petrochemical plant in Nigeria under a $28.5-billion provisional deal.
The initial plan was that each of the new refineries would be able to process around 250,000 barrels of oil a day, potentially meeting Nigeria’s estimated need of 750,000 barrels per day over the next 10 years.
But an update on the project revealed that the decision to downsize the capacities of the plants was based on the new Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) prepared by Wood Makenzie & Foster Will.
It also showed that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank, is to provide 80 per cent of the $11.3 billion now budgeted for the project, while the NNPC will provide 20 per cent equity, to be diluted for private sector participation later.
A source familiar with the deal however hinted that the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED), site preparation and infrastructure would start in February 2012, while construction would start in July, with completion slated for 2015.
He explained that the plan to drop Kogi from the deal was later shelved.
