ABUJA, Nov 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, is set to resume the importation of petroleum products from a neighbouring country, Niger Republic.
The Ministry of Petroleum Resources announced in a statement that the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday for petroleum products transportation and storage.
According to the statement, Niger Republic’s Soraz Refinery in Zinder, some 260km from the Nigerian border, has an installed refining capacity of 20,000 barrels per day.
“Niger’s total domestic requirement is about 5,000bpd, thus leaving a huge surplus of about 15,000 bpd, mostly for export,” it said.
“This is a major step forward. Niger Republic has some excess products which need to be evacuated. Nigeria has the market for these products. Therefore, this is going to be a win-win relation for both countries,”
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva said.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Mallam Mele Kyari said the two countries had had long engagements in the last four to five months with a view to restoring the importation of petroleum products (excess production) from Niger into Nigeria.
He said, “With this development, we hope to have a long-lasting and sustainable commercial framework to having a pipeline from the Soraz Refinery in Zinder (Niger) into the most proximate Nigerian city so that we can develop a depot.” — NNN-AGENCIES