Forte Oil, one the largest retailers of petroleum products in Nigeria said it is preparing to enter into a refining deal with a local partner.
The partnership will see Forte Oil spreading its wings into the country’s downstream sector. Akin Akinfemiwa, the chief executive of the company said the company will invest in marginal oil fields through a joint venture.
Akin did not, however, disclose the nitty-gritty of the joint venture and the particular partner for the joint venture.
Dangote Industries, a conglomerate owned by the richest man in Africa is looking at completing his composite refinery by 2019 with the estimated cost of USD17 billion. The refinery is planned to process about 650,000 barrels of crude per day.
Akin did not disclose if Dangote was the joint venture partner. Currently, the gap between Nigeria’s demand for refined petroleum products such as fuel outweighs its local supply. With over 35 million litres of petrol demanded daily, local capacity was estimated at 6 million litres, according to data from the NNPC.
(PageOne)
