New refineries, NNPC opens bids for co-location

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has opened bids for the co-location of refineries. This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Garba Deen Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, on Thursday in Abuja.

It said the NNPC was committed to boosting the nation’s refining capacity which in turn would put an end to perennial fuel scarcity in the country.

According to the statement, nine companies submitted bid. NNPC Chief Operating Officer Refineries Mr. Anibo Kragha in statement said the open bidding exercise was a demonstration of the determination of the federal government to increase the nation’s refining capacity from 445,000 barrels per day to 650,000. “The aim is to leverage on the existing facilities to fast track the take-off of the refineries as soon as possible,” he said

According to him, a technical evaluation committee has been set up to study the bids and announce winners as soon as possible.

Also, the corporation’s General Manager, Supply Chain Management, Sophia Mbakwe enjoined all the companies to accept the outcome as the exercise would be transparent.

She added that all the rules of public procurement as spelt out in the Bureau for Public Procurement Act would be strictly adhered to.

The statement noted that the exercise was witnessed by representatives of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative {NEITI} and the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP}.