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The plant has until now only been processing about 3,000 bpd (Image: Nilepet)

South Sudan’s Bentiu refinery ramps

up to nameplate capacity of 10,000 bpd

SOUTH SUDAN THE Bentiu joint venture (JV) between South itself as a reliable supplier of residual fuel oil for
Sudanese NOC Nilepet and Russia’s Rafinat is the domestic market.
working to increase throughput at its refinery “We have the issue of power, and you know
near Juba in the African country’s Unity State. this product is mainly used for power genera-
The announcement was made by Puot Kang tion,” he said. “Our aim ... is to tell the world that
Chol, South Sudan’s Petroleum Minister, who we are able and we managed, despite the politi-
said that increasing the processing rate at the cal situation we have been going through. South
refinery will allow for refined petroleum prod- Sudan is here to provide you with heavy fuel oil
ucts to be supplied to neighbouring countries. at any time you request it.”
The refinery, which was brought into oper- The Bentiu refinery receives feedstock from
ation in March, has a nameplate throughput Greater Pioneer Operating Co. (GPOC), the
capacity of 10,000 barrels per day (bpd), but has consortium that is developing Blocks 1, 2 and
until now only been running at 3,000 bpd. The 4 in the Ruweng autonomous area, which lies
news marks a significant achievement for Ben- north of Unity State.
tiu, which began work on the refinery in 2013, Malong noted that the JV had experienced
but start-up was delayed by the country’s civil some difficulties with respect to ensuring ade-
war, which resulted in damage. quate deliveries of feedstock to the new plant.
In March, Yak Malong, Nilepet’s deputy man- “Yes, there are challenges. One of the challenges
aging director for downstream operations, told is transportation and storage capacity. Nilepet is
reporters that the plant had cost about $100mn doing well and has been preparing to face this
to build and had increased South Sudan’s oil pro- situation,” he said, without elaborating.
cessing capacity to 127,000 bpd. Bentiu was able to begin test production in
Malong went on to say that Juba had author- 2014. However, South Sudan’s civil war pre-
ised Bentiu to build the refinery because it vented it from starting commercial operations
hoped that bringing more refined fuels to the – and also resulted in damage to the facility. The
domestic market would lead to a decline in joint venture initiated a restoration programme
prices. “We have come to the market to reduce in 2018, but work has proceeded slowly. As a
the high prices of fuel,” he was quoted as saying result, Bentiu was not able to realise the South
by Radio Tamazuj. Sudanese government’s hopes of bringing the
At the time he said that the refinery was refinery on stream in 2019.
due to begin producing diesel, as well as small Further delays were caused last year by travel
amounts of gasoline, in the near future, but to restrictions amid the coronavirus (COVID-19)
begin with, its focus would be on establishing pandemic. ™

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