Chinese Partner with Nigerians in $7.5 Billion Refinery, Plus Power Projects

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--China's Sino Arab Energy, which is in a partnership with local Nigerian company Osabo Refining and Petrochemical Industry Limited, has finalized plans to build an oil refinery in Akabuyo, in the Local Government Area of the Cross River state.

The two companies have signed an agreement for the construction of the refinery, which is expected to have a processing capacity for 107,000 barrels of crude oil per day and will involve an investment of about $7.5 billion.

A member of the Osabo Refining management team said that the process for the procurement of the requisite license to establish and operate the refinery had fully commenced. Akwa Esuk Eyamba, the community where the project will be located, had donated 500 hectares for the site.

The project partners also will engage in the acquisition, exploration and development of oil blocks in the future to complement the refining operations. They also will work together on the development of an independent power plant, the production of natural gas and oil, and real estate development within the Niger Delta region, in addition to the West African continental shelf. The feedstock for the refinery will be sourced from a number of Niger Delta basin oil wells.

The refinery is slated for completion within five years, with the first phase of construction scheduled to start in 2014.

The refinery will be built to stringent specifications to meet international standards, and its product stream will include premium motor spirit, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel, automotive gas oil, low-pour fuel oil, high-pour fuel oil, boat fuel, motor oil, lubricant and liquefied petroleum gas.

More than 10,000 jobs will be generated when the projects are fully operational, which will significantly improve the socio-economic well-being of people in the Cross River state and the Niger Delta region. For more information, see December 31, 2012, article - New 100,000 Barrel a Day Refinery for Nigeria.

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