Despite strong opposition against the $1.5 billion estimated Port Harcourt Refinery rehabilitation cost, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it would require between $4.5 billion and $4.7 billion fresh investment for the rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna refineries.
This was even as it said it expects an investment inflow of about $8.7 billion to trickle in during the rehabilitation works stages of the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), urging investors to take advantage of the window offered by the corporation.
In a virtual presentation titled: “Accessing Energy Infrastructure Opportunities at the NNPC”, at an event hosted by the United States Department of Commerce, Kyari, insisted that the corporation remained a destination of choice for investors globally.
The investment inflow according to the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, is also expected to cover the revamping of some of its 5,000-kilometre pipelines across the country.
He added that the downstream also holds enormous investment opportunities, especially in pipeline and depot rehabilitation, revamping of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and building of new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) plants across the country.
e stated that pipelines and depot rehabilitation would be done through Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT), stating that they are estimated to cost about $4 billion.
He said competent and duly qualified project companies would be engaged through open competitive bidding process.
“The selected BOT contractor shall be responsible to raise all financing to Build, Operate and after investment recovery and targeted profit, Transfer the asset back to the NNPC/NPSC.
“Source of revenue from which the BOT contractor is expected to recover its investment and target return shall be from tariffs through operating the assets,” Kyari noted.
He said Nigeria’s over 202 TCF of natural gas reserve represented a huge investment opportunity in power and gas-based industries and invited all serious foreign investors to come to Nigeria.
Recall that the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum(NGF) and Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has said that more information is needed to justify the rehabilitation of the refinery.
Also outraged were the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and Vice Presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, Peter Obi, Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, among others who have also criticised the proposed project, saying besides being too expensive, it was an unwise decision economically to rehabilitate the seemingly moribund and unviable refinery.
Others say the refineries have become drain pipes and cesspool of corruption for successive governments, saying Privatisation remained best alternative.
Fayemi who spoke recently during an interview on Channels Television’s Hard Copy, faulted the planned project, noting that a private refinery built by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote is underway.
“I wouldn’t have taken that decision given the fact that we know that a big refinery, private-sector driven is coming on stream but I don’t have the information that led to that decision at first,” he stated.
