Nigeria Signs $1.5bn Deal For Rehabilitation Of PH Refinery

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has signed an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning contract with Tecnimont SpA, a subsidiary of Maire Tecnimont.

In a statement, NNPC Group General Manager/Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, said the rehabilitation project had a completion timeline between 18 and 44 months under a three-phase arrangement.

He said the contract was awarded to the Milan-based Tecnimont SpA at a lump sum contract price of US$1.5 billion, inclusive of VAT and other statutory payments.

The signing comes few weeks after the Federal Executive Council approved the sum of $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the 210,000 barrels per day capacity Port Harcourt Refinery in Alesa-Eleme, Rivers State.

Earlier, there had been a public outcry against the cost of the planned rehabilitation, which was described as over-inflated and the amount capable of building a brand new or modular refinery.

However, NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, said the PHRC rehabilitation project was a dream come true, noting that the project was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to the Nigerian people to make the refineries work.

Kyari said the corporation embarked on a transparent tender process that could withstand any forensic audit, noting that NNPC was ready and open to answer any question pertaining to the project.