Godwin Obaseki, the governor of Edo State in Nigeria, has signed a MoU with a Chinese consortium for the development of a 5,500 bpd modular refinery in Edo State
The Chinese consortium that will handle the modular refinery is made up of Peiyang Chemical Equipment Company of China (PCC), Sinopec International Petroleum Service Corporation (SIPS) and African Infrastructure Partners (AIP).
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed within 12 months after the approval are granted by the regulatory authorities.
The signing ceremony of the MoU took place at Sinopec headquarters in Beijing and was witnessed by officials of the Nigerian Embassy in China.
Speaking at the event, Obaseki said that the deal is expected to provide training to the Edo citizens in welding, refinery operation and fabrication works to enable them participate in the construction of the refinery and its operation.
The governor further noted that the refinery construction aims to provide jobs for several unemployed Edo youths including the Libya returnees from the crisis-ridden North African country.
Obaseki further added that the modular refinery is set to supply adequate petroleum products in the country, thus turning Edo State as a preferred source of petroleum products in Nigeria.
According to This Day, the project will be executed in two phases, with the phase 1 consisting of 500 bpd demonstration refinery and phase 2 consisting of a 5,000 bpd capacity refinery.
