Page 16 - DMEA Week 34

DMEA REFINING DMEA

Nigerian-Chinese JV to commission

modular refinery 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-
The plant could handle modular refinery in Edo State sometime next ery begins production, he said. “This was the
as much as 30,000 month. catalyst to the project to ensure quick take-off,
bpd of oil eventually. Representatives of the JV – AIPCC Energy, a and it is a beneficiary of the Edo State govern-
joint venture formed by Nigeria’s AFCOM and ment incentive programme to attract manu-
China’s Peiyang Chemical Equipment Co. (PCC) facturing companies to locate in the state,” he
– informed Business Day last week that work on explained.
the refinery was already 95% mechanically com- Nigerian federal authorities also offered sup-
plete. Pre-commissioning operations are due to port by exempting imported equipment and
begin before the end of August, and commis- parts from customs duties, he noted.
sioning will follow in September if regulatory The modular refinery is being built in Ologbo,
agencies approve the plan, they said. a town in the Ikpoba Okha region of Edo State, at
Michael Osime, the chairman of AIPCC a cost of about $10.2mn. When finished, it will be
Energy, called the project a success, pointing out able to produce naphtha, diesel and residual fuel
that the joint venture had succeeded in build- oil (RFO). PCC has been responsible for all engi-
ing the plant in less than a year. “This indeed neering, procurement and construction (EPC)
is a remarkable feat for us and Nigeria,” he was work on the project.
quoted as saying in a company statement. “It According to Osime, AIPCC Energy may
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. ™

Iraq’s oil-for-projects deal

with China on hold

IRAQ IRAQ has put its 20-year oil-for-projects deal Chinese deal to the Iraqi economy.
with China on hold amid its worsening eco- “This agreement was supposed to gain
One parliamentary nomic crisis, local media reported on August 26. momentum after the formation of the new gov-
committee member The agreement reached last year is expected ernment but it seems that this government has
blamed US to see China support a $10bn joint fund to no intention to activate the agreement ... it is
interference. develop reconstruction projects, including a clear that the US is pressing this government to
number of refineries. In return, Iraq will supply cancel it,” he said.
China with 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil. Iraq’s parliament approved a new govern-
However, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan- ment in May headed by Mustafa al-Kadhimi
demic, a collapse in oil prices and OPEC+ have as prime minister, ending a six-month politi-
plunged Iraq’s economy into a severe recession. cal deadlock. But the government still has not
This has left the government unable to cover formed a council to oversee the joint fund with
state spending, including civil servants’ salaries China, which would also cover the construction
and pension payments. of new schools, hospitals and a railway.
Iraq has just withdrawn almost $1bn from its Meanwhile, US oil, gas and power firms
joint fund with China to pay civil servants, Aliq- signed some $8bn in deals in Iraq last week
tisad said, citing unidentified officials. during a visit by al-Kadhimi and other top Iraqi
“Iraq has decided to freeze the agreement with diplomats to Washington. The US not only has
China ... it has not officially annulled the agree- sought to curb Iranian influence in Iraq, but also
ment but suspended its implementation because counter the country’s growing economic ties
of internal political and security developments, with China.
the financial crisis,” the news agency said. As part of its push to develop its refining sec-
Aliqtisad quoted a member of Parlia- tor, Iraq awarded a $3.75bn contract this month
ment’s economy and investment committee, for the construction of new facilities at the
Ali Saadoun, who extolled the benefits of the 210,000 bpd Shuaiba refinery outside Basra. ™

P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 27•August•2020