Page 4 - DMEA Week 29 2021
P. 4

DMEA                                          COMMENTARY                                               DMEA




       Port Harcourt





       rehab to bear fruit





       within 14 months






       The $1.5bn refinery rehabilitation project is expected to begin delivering refined
       products by September 2022 as Nigeria seeks to breathe new life into its downstream.




        AFRICA           STATE-OWNED Nigerian National Petroleum  (Afreximbank) in February, NNPC awarded
                         Corp. (NNPC) this week said that its overhaul  an engineering, procurement and construction
                         of its Port Harcourt refining complex was in full  (EPC) contract for the project with Italy’s Maire
       WHAT:             swing, with the first refined products following  Tecnimont in April.
       Progress is finally being   the repairs expected to be delivered by Septem-  The $1.5bn agreement followed a $50mn,
       made on work to revamp   ber next year.                six-month ‘integrity check’ performed by Tec-
       the dilapidated Port   The unit is scheduled to come back on stream  nimont firm in 2019, with fellow Italian firm
       Harcourt facility.  in stages, with the full project not anticipated to  Eni contracted as technical adviser. This work
                         be completed until late 2024.        included equipment inspection at the site, as well
       WHY:                The staged approach was first announced in  as ‘relevant engineering and planning activities’.
       A billion-dollar loan was   March by Nigerian Minister of State for Petro-  Speaking to Nigeria’s Punch daily, NNPC’s
       agreed earlier in the year   leum Resources Timipre Sylva. However, at  head of public affairs, Kennie Obateru, said that
       to finance the project and   the time he suggested that the Port Harcourt  Tecnimont has already mobilised workers to the
       Italy’s Maire Tecnimont   Refining Co. (PHRC) would return to 90% of its  site. “The work is progressing,” he said. “We said
       was selected for EPC   nameplate 210,000 barrel per day (bpd) capacity  it will be completed within 18 to 44 months when
       contract.         within 18 months.                    counting from April this year. By 18 months,
                           The second phase would be completed within  some part of the refinery will be producing. The
       WHAT NEXT:        24 months and the final stage within 44 months,  total rehabilitation job will be completed in 44
       NNPC is reducing working   he said. In either case, NNPC will welcome any  months.”
       to find the right balance   improvement to its mothballed refining slate.  The progress will mark a welcome improve-
       between operator and                                   ment for NNPC, whose entire 445,000 bpd refin-
       shareholder in the   Overhaul                          ing capacity has been shut in for nearly two years
       country’s downstream,   Following the agreement of a $1bn loan from  following failure to carry out appropriate turn-
       though repairing poorly   Cairo-based  African  Export-Import  Bank  around maintenance (TAM) for four decades.
       maintained facilities
       appears to have taken
       precedence.


























       P4                                       www. NEWSBASE .com                           Week 29   22•July•2021
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9