The United States Trade and Development Agency, USTDA, has pledged to source for financiers through companies in America to help in the speedy completion of Eko Petrochemical and Refining Company Limited.
Mr. Thomas Hardy, USTDA’s acting Director stated this weekend during a project inspection of the 20, 000 barrel per day, bpd modular refinery located at Tomaro Island Port, in Amuwo– Odofin Local Government Area, Lagos State, saying it was committed to supporting its construction.
Hardy, who said USTDA was impressed with the level of activities done so far on the project added: “We will continue to help in sourcing for financiers through companies in America that will support the project for speedy completion of the refinery. We are proud to support this project and this will lead to infrastructure development and economic growth in Nigeria.
“This project represents an excellent opportunity for U.S. businesses to export technologies and services in support of Nigeria are refining goals.”
Hardy explained that in 2017, USTDA invested in the engineering design of Eko Petrochemical Refinery Project to make the vision of Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho, Chairman, Eko Petrochemical Refinery Company to become a reality.
He said: “The idea is to bring jobs into the Nigerian economy by expanding the petro-chemical industry in the country. Generally, strengthening the Nigerian economy became paramount to the success of this project.”
Ms Shannon Roe, the Country Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, USTDA said one of the reasons the agency came for inspection was to see the level of activities that have taken place since the last time we came in 2017.
However, Capt. Iheanacho said the agency had the mandate to help local companies and trading entities to develop contact with their equivalent counterpart in America.
He said that the company had completed the planning stage, completed drawing-up of the feasibility map and the detailed work-front engineering which met both the Department of Petroleum Resources’ and America’s specifications.
Capt. Iheanacho said that the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, had given the approval authority to construct, adding, “In the scheme of our current national priorities, the requirement to develop indigenous refining capacity on Nigerian soil is very high indeed.
He said that $120 million was expected to complete the refinery, adding that they were awaiting some companies that had shown interest in financing the project and handling the Engineering Procurement and Construction, EPC.
