2.5b Dollars Imo Refinery to Boost Employment

2.5b Dollars Imo Refinery to Boost Employment

The 2.5 billion dollars Imo refinery is expected to boost employment and economic development in the south east region of Nigeria.

Chairman, implementation committee for refinery project, Mr Anthony Chukwueke, said in order to fast track the process,  President Goodluck Jonathan would sign the Memorandum of Understanding on the project to take off after the general elections. 

According to him, the refinery has a petrochemical plant that will not only utilise oil, but also utilise gas and  add value to the local economy.  He said: "I am looking toward making this project work; making sure that the agreements with NNPC stick and that soon after the elections, the president is going to put his signature to the agreement. This will ensure that we bring back investments because the 2.5 billion dollars investment requires special incentives that the government will have to grant.’’

Chukwueke said that the Imo State government had put in place the enabling environment for the project to take off and noted that some investors from India and South Korea had already indicated interest in the construction of the refinery.

He explained that the project would be executed under a public-private partnership for effective and efficient service delivery. He said the refinery, which would be located at the bank of the River Niger in the state when completed, would have the capacity to process 1,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Chukwueke said the oil production would help to complement the production at the Port Harcourt refinery so as to serve the need of the south east and south-south part of the country. He explained, however, that while it took five years to complete the installation of a modern refinery, government was committed to building the Imo refinery and all the ancillary facilities that came with such project, including the real estate sector.

The Imo Greenfield refinery project was initiated in 2008 by Governor Ikedi Ohakim as part of plans to develop the state. The new refinery is expected to begin production by 2016.