Fuel scarcity: FG plans new refinery for Katsina-Niger border

The Federal Government has concluded plans to construct a new refinery along the Niger and Katsina State border.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, who stated this when he met with the President of the Republic of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou and the Energy Minister, Mr. Foumakoye Gado, said the deal will also see Nigeria constructing a crude oil pipeline from the Republic of Niger to the new refinery.

Details of the new refinery and pipeline remained sketchy as at the time of filling this report as definitive bilateral and technical agreements would be signed in the coming days.

The new Katsina-Niger refinery is coming at a time the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is shopping for financiers for the rehabilition of the country’s refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna.

NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, had said, that agreements on the potential financiers for the refineries were being fine-tuned, after which the endorsement of the NNPC Board would be sought.

Baru said: “We are pushing towards the final selection of our financiers and we expect that when that is done, we’ll get the agreements and present them to our board meeting this month to secure endorsement.

“Once we have the funding, we would start the rehabilitation of the refineries towards a 90 per cent capacity utilisation per stream day before the end of 2019.”

Baru described the procedure for selecting the financiers as painstaking, noting however that it is necessary to enable a desired closure on the subject.

He said the Corporation was also encouraging new refining capacities to come on board, adding that there are two consortia that had indicated interest to co-locate refineries in Warri and Port Harcourt.

The NNPC boss said the Corporation would provide whatever utility services the companies might require, such as power, processed steam, water and land, stressing that it had agreed in broad terms on areas of collaboration to fast track the development.

“I’m happy to inform you that progress has been made, up to the level of an acceptable detailed engineering design and we are in the process of mobilising some of the refineries already identified for installation in Nigeria,” he explained.

He said the Kaduna State Government was also championing a proposal to co-locate another refinery close to the KRPC with the intent of sourcing Nigerien crude for its operations.

Baru further explained that other Greenfield refineries were to be brought on board soon in Kano and Kaduna, saying while on board, they will source their crude from Niger Republic.

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