The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) – Mallam Mele Kyari says the Corporation seeks between $4.5 billion and $4.7 billion fresh financing for the rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna refineries. The funding is also expected to cover the revamping of some of its 5,000-kilometre pipelines across the country.
Speaking at a Virtual event organized by the United States Department of Commerce, he said the Corporation (NNPC) expects an investment inflow of about $8.7 billion to trickle in during the rehabilitation works stages of the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC).
He disclosed that the downstream also holds enormous investment opportunities, especially in pipeline and depot rehabilitation, revamping of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and building of new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) plants across the country, adding that that NNPC globally remained a destination of choice for investors. He, therefore, urged investors to take advantage of the window offered by the corporation.
Giving an insight into the planned project, he said that pipelines and depot rehabilitation would be done through Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) estimated to cost about $4 billion. He noted that competent and duly qualified project companies would be engaged through open competitive bidding process.
The selected BOT contractor, according to him, shall be responsible to raise all financing to Build, Operate and after investment recovery and targeted profit, Transfer the asset back to the NNPC. “Source of revenue from which the BOT contractor is expected to recover its investment and target return shall be from tariffs through operating the assets, he said.
He further disclosed that Nigeria’s over 202 TCF of natural gas reserve represented a huge investment opportunity in power and gas-based industries and invited all serious foreign investors to come to Nigeria.
