Nigeria and China have signed a US$28.5 billion deal under which China will build three refineries and one petrochemical complex in the African nation, the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said in a statement.
It said under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was signed Thursday in the capital city of Abuja between it (NNPC) and the China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited (CSCEC), the project would be financed by China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (SINOSURE) and a consortium of Chinese banks.
NNPC Group Managing Director Shehu Ladan said the three refineries would refine a total of 750,000 barrels of crude oil per day while the petrochemical plant will produce polymers, solvents and gas-based fertilizers.
He said construction on the refineries would start this year, but expected the entire project to be completed in five years.
The three refineries will be sited in the commercial city of Lagos, central town of Lokoja and the oil-rich state of Bayelsa, while the location of the petrochemical complex is yet to be decided.
Oil producing Nigeria currently imports refined petroleum products to meet local consumption demand, but Ladan said the refineries would save for Nigeria US$10 b illion yearly from fuel imports and US$1 billion in fertilizer imports, in addition to generating 20,000 direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians.
Nigeria has four existing refineries that are in bad shape due to poor maintenance.