The ground-breaking of the proposed 200,000 barrels per day BUA Refinery will hold later this year, even as the BUA Group and Axens of France signed a progress acknowledgement statement on the project in Lagos yesterday.
Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman, BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, noted that the agreement for the design of the refinery was signed with Axens last year.
On the choice of location for the project, he stated: “We decided on the choice of Akwa Ibom because of the nearness to the source of the raw material. It means we will not have to spend too much money on transportation of the stock and also because we have our jetty there. So we can bring in products and also export our products easily. And the quality of crude there is also one of the best.”
Rabiu disclosed that construction of the project will take between three to four years but declined to disclose the project cost.
In his comments, President of Axens, Jean Sentenac, who attended the event virtually, said that he is pleased that the project is advancing on schedule. He also praised the cooperation between all the involved parties and reiterated the commitment of Axens to delivering the BUA Refinery Project on time and with the highest standards.
Meanwhile, French President, Emmanuel Macron, has commended the BUA Chairman for his commitment to developing lasting relationships between French and Nigerian businesses.
The commendation was relayed by the French Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Franck Riester, when he paid a visit to the BUA Group Headquarters in Lagos where he handed over a personal invitation from President Macron to Rabiu to attend the Choose France Summit in June in Paris representing business leaders from Nigeria and Africa.
During the visit, it was also announced that Rabiu had been appointed Chairman of the France Nigeria Investment Club.
