Tecnimont wins $1.5-billion Nigeria refinery deal

Maire Tecnimont has won a USD 1.5-billion contract to rehabilitate Nigeria’s Port Harcourt Refinery, the Italian EPC major announced on Tuesday.

Port Harcourt is the country’s largest refinery, with a capacity of 210,000 bpd. But in 2018, the refinery’s utilisation was estimated at only 15%.

The contract, awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, will see the Italian company undertake EPC covering the whole refinery complex, aiming to bring the facility’s capacity to a minimum of 90% of its nameplate capacity.

The award follows news last month that the Nigerian government had approved USD 1.5 billion in spending for the upgrade project.

Tecnimont undertook phase one of the Port Harcourt rehabilitation through its local subsidiary and alongside local partners following a 2019 contract win valued at USD 50 million.

“We are strongly increasing our focus on initiatives for the modernisation of the refining sector, such as these strategic rehabilitation works,” Maire Tecnimont Group CEO Pierroberto Folgiero said.

“Moreover, [with the contract] we enhance our footprint in Nigeria and in sub-Saharan Africa, a market with excellent downstream prospects given its demographics and the necessity to unlock greater added value from the transformation of natural resources.”