Page 11 - DMEA Week 29 2021

DMEA REFINING DMEA

Waltersmith still aims to establish

industrial hub near refinery

AFRICA 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.
which is near the Ibigwe oilfield in Imo State. Additionally, it said it intended to invest heav-
According to Chikezie Nwosu, CEO of Wal- ily in infrastructure so that it could provide relia-
tersmith, the company has already arranged to ble electricity supplies and utility services.
partner with UN agencies within the framework Waltersmith announced last December that it
of a Nigerian government programme. had signed a technical support agreement (TSA)
“The industrial park is being developed with UNIDO and UNECA on the establishment
with the support of the United Nations Indus- of an energy innovation park near the refinery.
trial Development Organisation [UNIDO} and At the time, Abdularazaq Isah, Waltersmith’s
[the] United Nations Economic Commission chairman, said at a ceremony marking the sign-
for Africa [UNECA] as part of Nigeria’s coun- ing of the TSA that the project would help fuel
try programme with the Ministry of Industry, economic growth in south-eastern Nigeria.
Trade and Investment,” he explained at a cer- The company commissioned the first phase
emony marking the conclusion of a training of the refinery, a unit that can process 5,000 bar-
programme. rels per day (bpd) of crude oil and store up to
Nwosu said that the industrial park would 60,000 barrels, last year.
provide space for other companies working This unit will produce diesel fuel, kerosene,
along the hydrocarbon value chain. naphtha and residual fuel oil for domestic
These may include manufacturers of petro- consumption.
chemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals, as well Waltersmith hopes eventually to raise the
as research organisations and light manufactur- plant’s throughput capacity to 50,000 bpd by
ing enterprises, he said. He did not say whether building two more units, one that can process
Waltersmith had lined up any potential tenants 25,000 bpd and another that can handle 20,000
for the facility. bpd. The new facilities will be able to produce
The company had said last year that it was gasoline, aviation fuel and LPG.™

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