France’s largest hydrocarbons group Axens and the Nigerian conglomerate BUA signed a partnership contract on Tuesday in Paris to carry out the first stage of a refinery project which will be located in Akwa Ibom State, in south-eastern Nigeria. Nigeria, the continent’s leading crude oil producer but which imports almost all of its fuel, seeks with this new refinery project to take another step towards self-sufficiency in fuel consumption. For the time being, the country is facing a paradox since Africa’s leading crude oil producer lacks refined oil due to a lack of operational infrastructure. The country’s four public refineries, which are being restored and modernized, are far from sufficient to meet national demand. The refinery he is building in Lagos will be the largest on the African continent, with a processing capacity of 600,000 barrels per day, or a third of national production.

Source: The North Africa Journal September 03, 2020 11:37 UTC