A new greenfield refinery in Nigeria?
All possible developments in Nigeria should be taken with a grain of salt, but according to the website of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Imo (a Nigerian state) state government is set to go into a strategic partnership with NNPC to establish a greenfield refinery. The governor of Imo and NNPC representatives met recently to further explore this possibility.
Imo Governor Ikedi Ohakim said that the state has the highest gas deposits in the country and opined that the establishment of the refinery will go a long way in boosting the state economy and help in brining the Nigerian federal government’s presence close to the people of Imo State.
“I have come here to see you on a single agenda and that is the Imo refinery agenda. We want to resurrect this project and iron out modalities on how the state will partner with the corporation in establishing a greenfield refinery in Imo State,” Mr. Ohakim said. “We want to eliminate any bottle neck or any likely bureaucracy that may come in the way of the proposed refinery.”
[HP editor’s note: We admire Gov. Ohakim’s call for the elimination of “likely bureaucracy” in Nigeria, but we seriously doubt the governor will prevail in his crusade.]
Gov. Ohakim stated that if the refinery was established it would provide jobs for the many unemployed young people in the state. He argued that the job creation that the project would bring would go a long way in reducing crime rate in the state.
Meanwhile, Austen Oniwon the group managing director of NNPC commended the Gov. Ohakim for pursuing the industrialization of the state and expressed the readiness of the NNPC to partner with the state to establish a Greenfield refinery.
Mr. Oniwon lauded the Imo government for providing security for NNPC pipelines in the state and implored the government not to relent in its effort to safeguard the lives and properties of the people of the state.
“ I must note with every sense of gratitude that the rate of attack on NNPC facilities in Imo state has reduced and I wish to use this opportunity to commend Gov. Ohakim for instilling peace and security,” Mr. Oniwon said.
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