China – Nigeria: Maxi-Agreement on Gas Processing Plant Upgrade
With China's help, the West African country will be able to restart aluminum production
Nigeria has signed a $1.2 billion contract with Chinese state-owned engineering firm CNCEC for the technical modernization of a gas processing plant. The plant is needed for aluminum production in this West African country. On the Nigerian side, the contract was signed by BFI Group, the largest investor in Nigerian steel company Aluminum Company of Nigeria (ALSCON).
As emphasized in a statement from Nigeria’s Ministry of Petroleum, “the contract signed between CNCEC and BFI Group represents an important first step towards revitalizing the foundry, which has been stalled for years, suffering from inactivity due to legal disputes and financial problems.” Under the billion-dollar agreement, CNCEC will “resuscitate” a gas processing plant that will be able to supply up to 135 million standard cubic feet per day (about 4 million cubic meters) for use in a now-dormant smelter that will be capable of producing 300,000 tons of aluminum per year.
On his part, Nigeria’s Minister of Gas Industry, Epkerikpe Ekpo (pictured), said that “restarting the power plant will enable Nigeria to master more stages of the aluminum production process” and position itself “as one of the major producers of aluminum not only in Africa but also in the world.” According to Ekpo, during the second phase of the technological upgrade, the plant will be able to produce about one million tons of aluminum per year and generate up to 540 megawatts of electricity.
