Ethiopia’s private oil marketer has announced plans to build a US$5bn refinery within ten years to meet the growing demand for refined products
National Oil Ethiopia chief executive Tadesse Tilahun said that the final decision to build a refinery in the nation producing between 200,000 to 300,000 bpd was yet to be taken.
The refinery could compete with imports from India, the Gulf and beyond and also help African countries extract more value from their own oil discoveries, he added.
“It is a firm plan because oil demand is growing in Ethiopia. About 10 per cent each year from the annual consumption of three million cu/m and in the next 10 years we expect that to double,” Tilahun added.
Eastern Africa is the latest frontier in the global hydrocarbon hunt after gas discoveries off Tanzania and Mozambique and oil finds in Uganda and Kenya.
