Oando begins feasibility studies on proposed refinery
Komolafe Rasheed, Lagos

One of the oil platforms in the
Atlantic Ocean THE largest indigenous integrated oil company in Nigeria, Oando Plc, said it has kickstart the feasibility study of its proposed 360,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) green-field refinery in the Lekki Export Processing Zone, Lagos.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the company , Mr Wale Tinubu,said the refinery would be built in two phases of 180,000 bbl/d. Mr Tinubu who disclosed this in Abuja recently at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Conference and Exhibition said his company has acquired about 150 hectares of land for the 1st phase development and construction of a minimum 200,000 metric tonne ultra modern tank farm with off-shore SBM discharging facility.

The GCEO said the refineries when completed would provide a market opportunity of up to $10 billion per year adding that feasibility study has begun on the company’s proposed tank while the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) is expected to begin in the first quarter of next year.

Tinubu who spoke on the topic’ Building a Leading Indigenous Energy Group’ gave hints on the company’s activities and performance . He said that the key focus areas in the near and medium term include optimizing supply chain logistics in order to ensure efficient delivery across the markets the company serves.

He explained that the tank farm initiatives of the company expected to come on stream from 2010, would bolster business efficiency by improving gross margin line as well as participation in higher margin product lines such as lubricants and cooking gas (LPG).

He said the company is working assiduously to control its administrative and operating costs, improve asset turnover while employing synergies across the Group to increase efficiency. He stressed that his company would continue to play a dominant role in bridging the existing supply gap of petroleum products into Africa, while unveiling new markets across Sub-Saharan Africa as well as investing in products storage, terminalling and product distribution infrastructure across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Oando boss said that it would continue to seek opportunities to buy government assets to be privatized. The company he said recently concluded expansion of gas pipeline network from 66km to 99km which would take 20-25 new large industrial customers with 500 per cent increase in throughput capacity from 20,000 standard cubic metres per hour (scm/h) to 65,000 scm/h. The company has also concluded plans to build a 120 km pipeline to open up the eastern Nigerian market as well as supply gas to Benin, Ghana and Togo upon completion of West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) project, he said, adding that Oando will provide an opportunity for Oando to purchase part of the unbundled Nigerian Gas.
 

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