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AfrElec FUELS AfrElec
Nigerian-Chinese JV hopes to commission
modular refinery in September
NIGERIA A Nigerian-Chinese joint venture is hoping to ($1.81mn) in debt financing available, and the
commission its new 6,000 barrel per day (bpd) joint venture will make payments once the refin-
modular refinery in Edo State sometime next ery begins production, he said. “This was the cat-
month. alyst to the project to ensure quick take-off, and
Representatives of the JV – AIPCC Energy, a it is a beneficiary of the Edo State government
joint venture formed by Nigeria’s AFCOM and incentive programme to attract manufacturing
China’s Peiyang Chemical Equipment Co. (PCC) companies to locate in the state,” he explained.
– informed Business Day last week that work on Nigerian federal authorities also offered sup-
the refinery was already 95% mechanically com- port by exempting imported equipment and
plete. Pre-commissioning operations are due to parts from customs duties, he noted.
begin before the end of August, and commis- The modular refinery is being built in Ologbo,
sioning will follow in September if regulatory a town in the Ikpoba Okha region of Edo State, at
agencies approve the plan, they said. a cost of about $10.2mn. When finished, it will be
Michael Osime, the chairman of AIPCC able to produce naphtha, diesel and residual fuel
Energy, called the project a success, pointing out oil (RFO). PCC has been responsible for all engi-
that the joint venture had succeeded in build- neering, procurement and construction (EPC)
ing the plant in less than a year. “This indeed work on the project.
is a remarkable feat for us and Nigeria,” he was According to Osime, AIPCC Energy may
quoted as saying in a company statement. “It eventually expand the refinery’s throughput
will be the quickest modular refinery [ever] capacity to 30,000 bpd. The cost of this endeav-
delivered.” our is likely to top $64mn, and PCC has offered
Osime also thanked the state government to finance 40% of this sum, he said.
for backing the project. Edo made NGN700mn
World Bank blocks Liberian power
provider’s bid to lease fuel tanks
LIBERIA THE World Bank has reportedly blocked the at LEC, as the power provider’s CEO, Paschal
Liberian government from proceeding with a Buckey, subsequently asked the World Bank for
plan to lease spare capacity in petroleum prod- permission to proceed with the deal with Ami-
uct storage facilities built for Liberia Electricity nata. He did so because of the role the bank has
Corp. (LEC). played in financing the construction of the Bush-
Earlier this year, officials in Monrovia began rod Island depot.
touting a proposal to sign a 20-year lease with Khwima Nthara, the World Bank’s country
Aminata Petroleum, a local fuel supplier, for manager for Liberia, responded to Buckey’s let-
LEC’s storage depot at Bushrod Island. The ter by denying permission for the lease. He jus-
tanks located there have a combined capacity of tified this decision by arguing that loss of access
5.28mn gallons (24mn litres), enough to sustain to the storage tanks had the potential to hinder
the operation of a 38-MW thermal power plant LEC’s operations by preventing it from securing
(TPP) for a period of 90 days. LEC usually uses RFO at an optimal price.
them to store extra RFO for power generation. Additionally, he raised questions about the
Several months ago, though, Nathaniel fact that Monrovia had agreed to sign a deal with
McGill, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Aminata without first soliciting offers from other
outlined this plan in a letter to LEC chairman companies. “As we work with the government
Gesler Murray. McGill asserted that the plan and LEC … we would be happy to consider the
would allow Liberia to import more fuel and outcome of a competitive process for leasing the
avoid shortages, saying: “This will improve ser- storage tank facility based on careful considera-
vice delivery and help to minimise the security tion of the potential excess capacity as previously
issues in the country.” proposed,” he wrote.
The request appears to have found favour
Week 34 27•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P9
