96 firms jostle for downstream rehabilitation contracts

[Edoman]

96 firms jostle for downstream rehabilitation contracts
January 15, 2021


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About 96 companies have indicated interest in undertaking the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC’s) downstream infrastructure rehabilitation contracts.

The contracts range from rehabilitation of critical pipelines for crude oil supply to refineries to depots and terminals, through the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) financing model.

The firms’ bids align with the culture of Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) of the current NNPC management.

The expression of interest by the firms was made known at a virtual public bid opening exercise held at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, for the pre-qualification of companies for the contract.

NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division Dr. Kennie Obateru in a  statement  said that the public opening of the bids for the contract was in keeping with the NNPC Management’s commitment to transparency and accountability in all its processes and transactions.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC), Mrs. Ada Oyetunde, said the exercise was in conformity with the Federal Government’s mandate to prioritise the rehabilitation of critical downstream infrastructure across the country.

She listed the facilities that would be rehabilitated by successful bidders to include critical pipelines for crude oil supply to the refineries and evacuation of refined products, depots, and terminals.

She stressed that the objective was to get the infrastructure ready to support the refineries when they become operational after their rehabilitation.

The press statement quoted her as stating that: “An open tender for pre-qualification of interested companies was published in August 2020 in the national dailies, for the rehabilitation of NNPC downstream critical pipelines and associated depots and terminal infrastructure through Finance BOT to cover the four lots namely: Lot 1: Port Harcourt Refinery related infrastructure, Lot 2: Warri Refinery related infrastructure, Lot 3: Kaduna Refinery related infrastructure and Lot 4: System 2B related infrastructure.”

The NPSC boss said the BOT arrangement would provide a reliable pipeline network and automated storage facilities for effective crude feed, product storage and evacuation from the nation’s refineries post-revamp through an open access model and charge market reflective prices and tariffs to recover the investment.

Earlier, the Group General Manager, Supply Chain Management, Mrs. Aisha Katagum, praised the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for providing guidance for the project.

She assured the bidding firms of a fair, equitable and transparent selection process.

On hand to observe proceedings at the public bid opening exercise were representatives of the ICRC, BPP, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and Civil Liberties Organisations (CLOs).

Highpoint of the event was the display of the 96 companies that submitted bids for the rehabilitation projects