Page 10 - DMEA Week 02 2020

DMEA REFINING DMEA
Syrian president authorises formation of two new companies to build refineries
SYRIA
SYRIA’S government reported last week that President Bashar Assad had signed bills provid- ing for the establishment of two private compa- nies to operate hydrocarbon processing units.
One bill, known as Law No. 28, calls for the formation of a company called Al-Rusafa Refining to build and operate a refinery that will handle heavy crude oil. Another bill, known as Law No. 30, set up Al-Sahel Refining to build and operate a facility that will process gas condensate.
According to information posted on the al-Iqtisadi website, the legislation states that the new entities will manage the Syrian govern- ment’s stakes in the two plants.
The Ministry of Oil and Natural Resources will own 15% of each refinery, and the remain- ing equity will be split between Sallizar Shipping SAL of Lebanon, with 5%, and the majority owner Arvada Petroleum, an affiliate of Syria’s Katerji Group, with 80%.
Assad’s signature of the two bills lays the groundwork for the construction of both facil- ities. Syria’s parliament approved legislation for the two projects last December.
The refinery deals are not the only example of Arvada’s activity in Syria. Last September, the Ministry of Oil and Natural Resources ratified a contract between Arvada and Sallizar Shipping
on the expansion and development of the Tar- tous offshore terminal.
Currently, Syria is home to just two refiner- ies, both of them owned by the state. One of the plants lies on the coast, in the city of Baniyas, and the other lies inland, in Homs.
The Katerji Group has been involved in oil deliveries to the Homs refinery. It has been accused of supplying oil mixed with water as feedstock and then accepting payment for the weight of the shipment, without first reviewing or calibrating the quality of its product.
Since September 2018, the Katerji Group has been included on the list of Syrian companies targeted by the US sanctions regime. ™
Saudi Aramco’s shares are listed on the Tadawul exchange (Photo: Ajel.sa)
Privately owned Nigerian company expands modular oil refinery
NIGERIA
NIGERIA’S Department of Petroleum Resources reported last week that a privately owned company had significantly increased thecapacityofitsmodularrefineryinOgbele,a town in Rivers State.
In a statement, the department said that Niger Delta Petroleum Resources (NDPR), a subsidiary of Niger Delta Exploration and Pro- duction (NDEP), had raised the capacity of its small-scale topping plant from 1,000 barrels per day to 6,000 bpd.
The expansion will allow the facility, which is now producing only diesel, to produce and market other types of fuel, it said. The plant will be able to turn out heavy residual fuel oil, marine
diesel and kerosene, it explained.
“[The] DPR is set to grant NDPR a licence
to operate the plant, [which is] expected to be commissionedsoon,”thestatementsaid.
The department hailed the project, saying that the modular refinery would help Nigeria’s economy in several ways. “The expanded plant – located at Ogbele, Ahoada in Rivers State – will potentially reduce importation of petroleum products, with corresponding savings in foreign exchange and employment generation for our teeming youths,” it said in the statement.
NPDR intends to expand the modular refin-
ery again, raising the plant’s total design capacity
to 11,000 bpd. 
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w w w. N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 02 16•January•2020