Page 14 - AfrOil Week 29 2021

AfrOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AfrOil

The modular refinery’s capacity may eventually reach 50,000 bpd (Photo: VFuels)

Waltersmith still aiming to establish

industrial park near modular refinery

NIGERIA NIGERIA’S Waltersmith Petroman Oil Ltd has willing to offer partners certain incentives, such
reiterated its commitment to establishing an as direct access to valuable raw materials from
industrial park adjacent to its modular refinery, the refinery. Additionally, it said it intended to
which is near the Ibigwe oilfield in Imo State. invest heavily in infrastructure so that it could
According to Chikezie Nwosu, CEO of Wal- provide reliable electricity supplies and utility
tersmith, the company has already arranged to services.
partner with UN agencies within the frame- Waltersmith announced last December that
work of a Nigerian government programme. it had signed a technical support agreement
“The industrial park is being developed with (TSA) with UNIDO and UNECA on the estab-
the support of the United Nations Industrial lishment of an energy innovation park near the
Development Organisation [UNIDO} and refinery. At the time, Abdularazaq Isah, Walter-
[the] United Nations Economic Commission smith’s chairman, said at a ceremony marking
for Africa [UNECA] as part of Nigeria’s coun- the signing of the TSA that the project would
try programme with the Ministry of Industry, help fuel economic growth in south-eastern
Trade and Investment,” he explained at a cer- Nigeria.
emony marking the conclusion of a training The company commissioned the first phase
programme. of the refinery, a unit that can process 5,000 bar-
Nwosu said that the industrial park would rels per day (bpd) of crude oil and store up to
provide space for other companies working 60,000 barrels, last year. This unit will produce
along the hydrocarbon value chain. These may diesel fuel, kerosene, naphtha and residual fuel
include manufacturers of petrochemicals, plas- oil for domestic consumption.
tics and pharmaceuticals, as well as research Waltersmith hopes eventually to raise the
organisations and light manufacturing enter- plant’s throughput capacity to 50,000 bpd by
prises, he said. He did not say whether Walter- building two more units, one that can process
smith had lined up any potential tenants for the 25,000 bpd and another that can handle 20,000
facility. bpd. The new facilities will be able to produce
The company had said last year that it was gasoline, aviation fuel and LPG. ™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 29 21•July•2021