Epic Refinery Group to build refinery

The privately owned Nigerian firm, Epic Refinery Group (Epic), has announced it has signed a consulting agreement with foreign firm, Chiron Refineries (Chiron), for the construction of a 107 000 bpd refinery in Bayelsa State, in its determination to increase the volume of locally refined petroleum products; a development that is expected to provide employment for many in Nigeria.

According to the Managing Director of Epic Refinery, Barango Mathew Wenke Jnr., the agreement followed the granting of the license for construction by the Department of Petroleum Resources in June 2015, “Epic Refinery Group is aware of the hardship and the needs of Nigerians and has taken a decision to commence the construction of a relocation refinery on its site in Bayelsa State,” he said. “The agreement will enable Chiron to offer a consultancy function to Epic, which will help the company in finding the best match for Epic’s location." Wenke continued, “The future to finding a lasting solution to the energy problems in Nigeria is brownfield, as opposed to greenfield.”

The agreement for the construction was led by top representatives from both companies, Wenke Jnr., and Managing Director of Chiron Refineries, Ron Kuperberg, and was finalised during a meeting in Lagos.

According to Wenke, the company took the initiative to plan the construction as a response to the rising demand for refined products in Nigeria, despite the record lows for the price of crude oil in the international market. He noted that with an ominous forecast that the price of crude oil may drop further below US$20, it was imperative that the country began refining its own crude product now. The first phase of the refinery is expected to commence operations before the end of 2016, with production volume of 30 000 bpd.

Sources: Vanguard, Information Nigeria, Business Day, The Will

Edited from various sources by Francesca Brindle

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/13012016/epic-refinery-group-and-chiron-refineries-build-refinery-facility-bayelsa-state-nigeria-2139/