The largest hydrocarbon firm in France, Axens has won the bid for the multibillion-dollar BUA Group’s 200,000 barrels per day (BPD) refinery and petrochemical plant in Nigeria.
The French giant was given the contract to license key refinery technologies to the BUA Group.
While making the disclosure in a statement on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, the French company stated that the BUA project will be located in Nigeria’s oil-producing state of Akwa Ibom state.
READ: BUA Cement set to establish ultramodern 3million cement plant, 50mw power plant in Adamawa
Axen, which makes systems to convert oil and biomass to cleaner fuels, said it will provide technology for the greenfield project designed to produce Euro-V fuels and polypropylene targeted at domestic and regional markets.
The new refinery and petrochemical project is expected to go head to head with Nigeria’s other large scale 650,000 BPD oil refinery and petrochemical project, which is being built by the Dangote Group and expected to be operational by 2021.
READ: Amaechi says 150 Nigerians being trained as engineers in China
Nairametrics had reported that the Department of Petroleum Resources said that Nigeria expects to become a net exporter of fuel and other petroleum products within the next 2 years as the various ongoing refinery projects come on stream.
BUA Group, who also have interests in cement, food and mining said, ‘’This large complex will help in reducing Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuels and petrochemicals.’’
The new refinery, which has a capacity to produce 200,000 barrels per day, is expected to be operational in 2024.
READ: Waltersmith Petroman Oil to expand output by 600%, as it opens mini-refinery soon
The bidding process for the contract was reported to be managed by energy consultants, KBR, which will also be handling subsequent rounds for the engineering and construction phase.
Subsequent bidding rounds, which includes construction and engineering contracts, are already underway. The refinery will be built using an undisclosed mix of debt and equity, with several commercial banks in negotiations with BUA Group.
The contract was signed in the French capital, Paris, between the Chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu and the Chief Executive Officer of Axen, Jean Sentenac, in a ceremony presided over by France’s Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness.
The French Firm, Axen, was reported to have overcome strong competition from US firm, Honeywell UOP, which got through to the final round