FG calls for investors to manage refineries

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has unveiled plans to engage investors to enter into a Joint Venture (JV) arrangement with it to fund, rehabilitate and jointly operate any of the three Nigerian refineries. 
The JV deal will also include but not limited to off-take of refined products for sale primarily in the Nigerian Market.The Corporation in a public tender said the refineries will be jointly operated by NNPC and the selected investors for a defined period until investments are fully recovered.

NNPC said it is seeking for the partnership to make the refineries operational and increase overall productivity via technically and financially capable private operators.
It said the objective of the tender is to integrate the technical, operational and financial requirements to rehabilitate the three existing refineries in Nigeria with a view to meeting and/or exceeding the defined performance metrics for operations at 100 percent capacity utilization.
The three refineries are the 210,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD) Port Harcourt refinery; 125,000bpsd Warri and 110,000 bpsd Kaduna refineries with a combined refining capacity of 445,000 bpsd.
But the tender ignited a protest by the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) where it said, the move is a form of privatization through the backdoor of the national assets which is doomed to fail and bring about more hardship to the citizens, just the way the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) privatization failed to bring the desired results but darkness all over the country.
Joseph Ogbebor,Acting General Secretary of the union, yesterday  warned  the NNPC of the dangers on the purported  engagement of investors as joint technical partners for the rehabilitation and operations of NNPC refineries.
“For security reasons and in the interest of protecting the jobs of oil and gas workers that the present joint partnership bid will be resisted by NUPENG.”
He added that no investor will want to put his money in the joint venture partnership arrangement without having a say in the running of the refineries, storage depots and jetties.
NNPC in the tender  said that while prospective investors could submits bids separately for each refining company and can bid for a refinery or refineries of interest, only one refinery will be awarded to each successful bidder. 
“Preference will be given to bidders with demonstrable International experience in world-class, profitable refinery operations with strong safety track record.”
 All refinery rehabilitations/upgrades are to be completed by December 31, 2016 or the nearest possible date as agreed by NNPC and the Investor(s),” the bids invitation notice seen by Daily Trust read.





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