US Agency Commends Work on 20,000bpd Refinery in Lagos

• US Agency Commends Work on 20,000bpd Refinery in Lagos

The US Trade and Development Agency has commended the management of Eko Petrochem and Refinery Company Limited for the level of work done so far on the refinery.

The acting Director, USTDA, Mr Thomas Hardy, gave the commendation during a project inspection of the 20,000-barrel-per-day capacity modular refinery located at Tomaro Island Port in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos, according to a statement.

According to Hardy, the agency is impressed with the level of activities done so far on the project.

He said, “We will continue to help in sourcing for financiers through companies in America that will support the project for the 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 US businesses to export technologies and services in support of Nigeria’s refining goals.”

Hardy noted that in 2017, the USTDA invested in the engineering design of the refinery.

He said, “I am impressed with what I saw. When we got involved in the very early stage, we knew that there was going to be hurdles. So, we decided to invest and bring technical experts into Nigeria to help Iheanacho(the owner) lay forth the plan he needed to move forward to get the finance to move this project for implementation.

“This is exactly what we intended to do. Our investment is going to be making those connections to finance the sea contracts. Anything that can help him achieve his vision for Nigeria and growth of Tomaro Island is our goal right now.”

The Chairman, Eko Petrochem and Refining Company, Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho, lauded the USTDA’s support towards the construction of the refinery.

Iheanacho said that the Department of Petroleum Resources had given the approval to construct the refinery.