April 26, 2024 [Hydrocarbon Processing]- Nigeria’s state-owned oil firm NNPC Ltd on Thursday signed an agreement allowing a local refiner to build and operate a 100,000 bpd refinery within NNPC’s Port Harcourt Refinery complex in the south of the country.

The plan to site another refinery close to the state-owned plant to maximize the use of existing facilities, known as co-location, was first made public in 2016 when the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) advertised for tenders.

In 2018, NNPC approved a bid from African Refineries Port Harcourt (ARPH) Ltd to set up a new refinery within the Port Harcourt complex. NNPC was to take a 10% equity stake in the project.

ARPH then contracted a subsidiary of Italian engineering firm Maire Tecnimont Group to build the plant.

On Thursday, NNPC signed an investment agreement with ARPH, a major step towards starting the project, which could help boost Nigeria’s bid to ramp up production of refined petroleum products after the giant Dangote Refinery came into operation earlier this year.

The 210,000 bpd Port Harcourt refinery was shut five years ago and is among moribund state-owned plants which the government is reviving. NNPC expects the refinery to hit full capacity later this year.

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