Posted by By CHIDI NNADI on
The end to incessant hike in petroleum products prices, occasioned by the country's dependence on the importation of products, appears to be in sight as Orient Petroleum, Resources Limited, one of the companies granted licence by the Federal Government to build private refineries, has concluded plans to begin products refining next year.
The end to incessant hike in petroleum products prices, occasioned by the country's dependence on the importation of products, appears to be in sight as Orient Petroleum, Resources Limited, one of the companies granted licence by the Federal Government to build private refineries, has concluded plans to begin products refining next year.
The Chairman of Orient Petroleum Resources, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who disclosed this in Lagos, insisted that the company decided to go into the building of a refinery to help check the incessant hike in the prices of petroleum products.
His words: 'I am sure you all know the fundamental problem we have with the pricing of petroleum products in the fact that we still import up to 70 per cent of our consumption of refined products. It is in my view an unacceptable paradox that Nigeria, which is a major world producer and exporter of crude oil, should continue to be holding to external factors in determining the prices that its citizens pay for refined petroleum products."
He, therefore, said that when the company's refinery commences operations next year 'it will ameliorate the present shortage of petroleum products refined within the country, reduce the amount of products imported from overseas, currently estimated at 70 per cent, conserve foreign exchange for Nigeria, create well paid jobs and improve the well-being of our people by provision of reliable infrastructure in the project area."
He also disclosed that OPR had in February this year signed a contract with a US firm, Shaw-Stone and Webster, to commence the construction of its refinery early next year.
According to him, the representatives of Shaw-Stone and Webster had in August visited the Umudora-Umuikwu in Anambra West Local Government Area site of the refinery to confirm the results of geo-technical surveys and soil testing to provide necessary data for foundation designs, adding that the Front End Engineering Design of the project would be completed this month.
'The phase one refinery, which will be of mostly modular construction, will be fabricated overseas and shipped to Nigeria for assembly and hook-up in the fourth quarter of 2006.