*Nine companies submit bids
Oscarline Onwuemenyi
01 April 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said on Thursday that it is expecting over 650,000 barrels per day of crude to be refined locally after nine companies submitted their bids for the co-location of refineries.
In a statement signed by Mr. Garba Deen Muhammad, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, in Abuja, the NNPC said it was committed to boosting the nation’s refining capacity which in turn would put an end to perennial fuel scarcity in the country.
Nine companies have submitted their bids to participate in the co-location of refineries to ensure greater output, according to the statement.
It quoted the NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Refineries, Mr. Anibo Kragha as saying that 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 speaking at the event, the corporation’s General Manager, Supply Chain Management, Sophia Mbakwe enjoined all the companies to accept the outcome, noting that 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).