Page 12 - DMEA Week 18 2022

DMEA REFINING DMEA

Modular refineries

struggling for supplies

AFRICA NIGERIA’S modular refiners are struggling to to the supply issues.
keep their facilities running, amid accusations While the facilities require just 16,000 bpd of
that the state oil firm is failing to provide their crude, NNPC continues to export around 1.3mn
meagre feedstock requirements as it maintains bpd.
export levels. One source told ThisDay: “NNPC will tell
Local media outlet ThisDay quoted several you that they are doing direct sales, direct pur-
sources who wished to remain anonymous as chase (DSDP) deals, and give traders that don’t
saying that two of the country’s three ‘active’ even have refineries the needed crude, but they
modular refineries – the 10,000 barrel per day fail to give local refineries the commodity. This is
(bpd) OPAC Refineries unit in Delta, the 5,000 an aberration, because all those costs associated
bpd Waltersmith Refining unit in Imo and the with the DSDP, they will pass these costs to the
6,000 bpd Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Co, government, which will add to the pump price.
unit in Edo – have all had the same issue with That’s why you see the cost of products going up
the Nigerian National Petroleum Co. (NNPC), in the market.”
which previously gave assurances it would Another said that if diesel were “refined
ensure their “seamless” operations. locally, all these associated costs will be
No mention was made of the 1,000 bpd Niger eliminated”.
Delta Petroleum Resources (Train 3) unit in Riv- Meanwhile, payment terms have also proved
ers State, which is understood to have been oper- to be a problem, with NNPC demanding pay-
ational in recent months. ment in US dollars from local refiners which
The report found that the OPAC unit has conduct their business in Naira.
exhausted its supplies and is sitting dormant, One source concluded: “We are not say-
while Waltersmith has only been able to pur- ing give us for free. We want to purchase and
chase feedstock from private firm Seplat. The sell to the local market to ameliorate the local
Edo plant was completed several months ago, challenges the country is facing with refined
but its commissioning has been delayed owing products.”™

Algeria to export derivatives on

completion of Hassi Messaoud

AFRICA ALGERIA will shortly be able to export oil deriv- eliminate the country’s export problems.
atives after the Hassi Messaoud main refinery The official said the domestic gasoline, die-
project comes into service, the head of Hydro- sel and fuel consumption increased in Q1 this
carbon Regulatory Authority (ARH), Rachid year to 1.2mn, 2.5mn and 350,000 tonnes
Nadel, told channel one in an interview. respectively. The domestic consumption covers
NOC Sonatrach announced the launch the demand and the future surplus of oil derivatives
60,000 barrel per day (bpd) greenfield refinery output will be directed to exports.
in the east of the country last week, saying that Algeria, through its oil utility Naftal, opened
the facility was 99% complete. The plant was first the way for local and foreign investors to invest
proposed in 2012 as one of five planned 110,000 in the production of equipment. Some Italian
bpd refineries: it is unclear whether the newly and Polish companies showed interest, accord-
completed unit is yet to be expanded further. ing to Nadel.
Amec Foster Wheeler, now part of the UK’s Algeria’s public and private fuel distribution
Wood Group, won a front-end engineering and stations amount to 2,700 units. The government
design (FEED) contract covering the Hassi Mes- said it has been working to increase the number
saoud facility as well as two others at Tiaret in the of stations especially in the Southern region.
north-west and Biskra in the north-east. In 2018, Total and state-owned Sonatrach
Nadel added that following Hassi Messaoud, agreed to start engineering studies for a propane
five more refineries that are under construc- dehydrogenation and propylene complex in
tion will be completed to help to permanently Arzew worth $1.4bn.™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 18 05•May•2022