The Federal Executive Council has approved $1.48bn for the rehabilitation of two refineries in Warri and Kaduna.
The rehabilitation contract is for the Warri and Kaduna refineries and was awarded to Messers Saipem SPA and Saipem Contracting Limited at a total of $1.48bn.
The decision was taken at the weekly meeting of the council presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
Osinbajo stood in for President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently in London.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, disclosed this after the FEC meeting which lasted about six hours.
Sylva who said that the projects would run in three phases of 21, 23 and 33 months, also revealed that 15 per cent of the project sum for the rehabilitation of the two refineries in Port Harcourt had been disbursed to the contractor.
According to him, $897.68m will be spent to overhaul the Warri refinery while $586.9m has been allocated for the Kaduna refinery.
Sylva noted that the rehabilitation exercise will run in three phases across 77 months.
He said, “The completion of the rehabilitation of Warri and Kaduna refineries is going to be in three phases. First phase will be completed within 21 months. In 23 months, phase two will be completed and in 33 months, the full rehabilitation will be completed.”
Sylva explained that work had commenced on the Port Harcourt refinery, and the first 15 per cent of the contract sum had been disbursed to the contractor who has been fully mobilised to the site.
Sylva also announced that the council had okayed the acquisition of a 20 per cent minority stake by the NNPC in The Dangote Petroleum Refinery to the tune of $2.76bn.
