US-based infrastructure development company Black Rhino Group has announced plans to build a US$3bn oil refinery in South Sudan, as African youngest nation seeks to become self-sufficient in the petroleum industry
According to Bloomberg, Black Rhino president Dan O’Shea said the company has signed a framework agreement with South Sudan’s government for the proposed 50,000 bpd refinery.
The refinery will be built in the country’s Upper Nile state and is expected to become operational in about three years. The South Sudan government has plans to ship a significant amount of refined products to Ethiopia in exchange for electricity that would power the facility, O’Shea added.
The South Sudan Government and Black Rhino are expected to finalise the agreement to build this refinery by the second quarter of 2014.
South Sudan currently exports about 220,000 bpd of crude from its oilfields via pipelines across Sudan and imports as much as 40mn litres of diesel and gasoline a month from its neighbouring countries, according to Bloomberg data.
The country’s government has planned to set up refineries in the Unity and Upper Nile States. The first facility in Bentiu, which would produce 5,000 bpd, is a joint venture between Nile Petroleum and Russia’s Safinat.
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Malaysia’s Petronas and the Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corporation are some of the international firms who have oil exploration permits in South Sudan.
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