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AfrOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AfrOil

The request appears to have found favour at to the storage tanks had the potential to hinder
LEC, as the power provider’s CEO, Paschal LEC’s operations by preventing it from securing
Buckey, subsequently asked the World Bank RFO at an optimal price.
for permission to proceed with the deal with Additionally, he raised questions about the
Aminata. fact that Monrovia had agreed to sign a deal
He did so because of the role the bank has with Aminata without first soliciting offers from
played in financing the construction of the other companies. “As we work with the govern-
Bushrod Island depot. (Under the terms of the ment and LEC … we would be happy to con-
credit deal signed for that project in 2010, LEC sider the outcome of a competitive process for
must seek the bank’s approval for any lease, sale, leasing the storage tank facility based on careful
transfer or other disposal of the facility.) consideration of the potential excess capacity as
Khwima Nthara, the World Bank’s country previously proposed,” he wrote.
manager for Liberia, responded to Buckey’s let- As of press time, it was not clear whether
ter by denying permission for the lease. He jus- Liberia’s government was making any attempt
tified this decision by arguing that loss of access to pursue another lease agreement. ™

Nigerian-Chinese JV’s Edo refinery

to be commissioned 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 next month. ery begins production, he said. “This was the cat-
Representatives of the JV – AIPCC Energy, alyst to the project to ensure quick take-off, and
a joint venture formed by Nigeria’s AFCOM it is a beneficiary of the Edo State government
and China’s Peiyang Chemical Equipment Co. incentive programme to attract manufacturing
(PCC) – informed Business Day last week that companies to locate in the state,” he explained.
work on the refinery was already 95% mechan- Nigerian federal authorities also offered sup-
ically complete. Pre-commissioning operations port by exempting imported equipment and
are due to begin before the end of August, and parts from customs duties, he noted.
commissioning will follow in September if regu- The modular refinery is being built in
latory agencies approve the plan, they said. Ologbo, a town in the Ikpoba Okha region of
Michael Osime, the chairman of AIPCC Edo State, at a cost of about $10.2mn. When
Energy, called the project a success, point- finished, it will be able to produce naphtha, die-
ing out that the joint venture had succeeded sel and residual fuel oil (RFO). PCC has been
in building the plant in less than a year. “This responsible for all engineering, procurement
indeed is a remarkable feat for us and Nigeria,” and construction (EPC) work on the project.
he was quoted as saying in a company statement. According to Osime, AIPCC Energy may
“It will be the quickest modular refinery [ever] eventually expand the refinery’s throughput
delivered.” capacity to 30,000 bpd. The cost of this endeav-
Osime also thanked the state government our is likely to top $64mn, and PCC has offered
for backing the project. Edo made NGN700mn to finance 40% of this sum, he said. ™

AIPCC Energy’s refinery will have a capacity of 6,000 bpd (Photo: PM News Nigeria)

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 26•August•2020