The new contract between French oil and fuel company Axens and Nigerian trade conglomerate BUA Group for the structure of a giant refinery will be for bilateral relations, as the economies of both countries have been shaken by the coronavirus pandemic.
French Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Franck Riester did so on Twitter.
Axens and BUA Group signed a new refinery contract in Paris on Tuesday.
Under the agreement, Axens obtains the buA Group key refining license.
The refinery is expected to start operating consistently until 2024 and will have the capacity to consistently produce 200,000 barrels.
“While France and Nigeria face a major challenge because of COVID-19, I believe that strengthening our ties will allow us to be more resilient.
“This agreement is a very sign of the Franco-Nigerian partnership,” Riester wrote on Twitter.
Abdul Samad Rabiu, CEO of BUA Group, who attended the signing ceremony, said the allocation is important to Nigeria, which lately imports 90% of petroleum products and hopes to reduce imports of subtle fuel.
Axens won the opposite assignment to Honeywell UOP.
Rabiu, who was appointed president of the Franco-Nigerian Investor Club, initiated through French President Emmanuel Macron, said in an interview with French magazine The Africa Report that the French leader “has given special determination and to this project.”
According to Axens CEO Jean Sentenac, the contract is successful for the French economy, which defeated the COVID-19 pandemic.
The site of the assignment will be in Akwa Ibom State, southeastern Nigeria.
According to the contract, its production will come with export to other African countries but will give priority to the domestic market (Sputnik / NAN).
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