Tecnimont Boosts Presence In Nigeria With $1.5bn PH Refinery Project

Maire Tecnimont has said that the $1.5bn Port Harcourt refinery rehabilitation contract is a step in strengthening its footprint in the Nigeria petroleum downstream sector.

Recall, the Federal Government had on March 17 commenced a fresh drive to rehabilitate Nigeria’s ailing and under-performing refineries by approving the sum of $1.5bn for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt Refinery.

The $1.5bn project which was awarded to Tecnimont S.p.A, a subsidiary of Maire Tecnimont would be jointly funded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Internally Generated Revenue, budgetary allocations provisions and Afreximbank, respectively.

The contract entails engineering, procurement and construction activities for a full rehabilitation of the refinery complex, aimed at restoring the complex to a minimum of 90 percent of its nameplate capacity.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Chief Executive Officer, Maire Tecnimont Group, Pierroberto Folgiero, said that the contract represents a testament of its technological prowess, as it increases focus on initiatives for the modernization of the refining sector.

He said, “This project will enhance our footprint in Nigeria and in Sub-Saharan Africa, a market with excellent downstream prospects given its demographics and the necessity to unlock greater added value from the transformation of natural resources.

“We are eager to keep on supporting a leading player in the area such as NNPC to develop Africa’s downstream sector”.

The project which comprise of two refineries totaling an overall capacity of approximately 210,000 barrels per day will be completed in 44 months from the award date.

By the Federal Government’s schedule, the Port Harcourt Refinery will refine crude oil at optimum capacity by 2024 and could save the nation billions of dollars, which could then be allocated to other sectors.

Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari had described the signing of the contract as a significant milestone in Federal Government’s efforts to restore the nation’s refineries to their optimum capacities.

“This is a significant moment in our economic development as a country. We are going to witness a major reduction in the importation of petroleum products and a reduction in constraint on our foreign exchange,” Kyari noted.

Kyari also noted that the development will also lead to increase in revenues for the country, employment generation to thousands of Nigerians as well as a significant growth of the nation’s manufacturing sector.

According to available government data, the federal government, between January 2006 and December 2019, spent a whopping sum of N10.413trn to subsidize the price of Premium Motor Spirit for Nigerians.

Within the 13 year period, the N10.413trn burden of subsidy payment for PMS translated into a yearly average payment of about N743.8bn.