FG, Agip to Sign Unbelievable $15bn Refinery, Power Project Deal for N’Delta Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja
Ihe federal government and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), a subsidiary of Italy’s ENI, have struck a deal to construct an unbelievable $15 billion refinery in the Niger Delta. The deal will also include Agip’s investment in a power project. In this regard, officials of
Agip held a meeting with acting President Yemi Osinbajo in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday with a view to opening discussions on the proposed investment. The meeting agreed on the need to prepare a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a 150,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery by Agip in the Zabazaba field, located in Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245. However, the $15 billion announced by the government for the refinery and power
project, raised eyebrows among industry observers who wondered why a mid-sized refinery and thermal power plant would gulp that kind of money. In comparison, they said the 650,000bpd refinery complex, including fertilizer
and petrochemical units, being built by the Dangote Group at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos, is costing $9 billion. The meeting, which had in attendance the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, also discussed Agip’s assistance to Nigeria in
Court Clears Oronsaye of Corruption Charges… Page 12
the repairs of the Port Harcourt refinery. Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Kachikwu said the deal is aimed at discouraging oil companies operating in Nigeria from continuous fuel importation and encouraging them to refine oil locally. Continued on page 10
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TODAY'S WEATHER
ABUJA 16°C-33°C
MAIDUGURI 15°C-35°C
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& RE A S O
ENUGU 22°C-34°C
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KANO 11°C-33°C
LAGOS 23C-31°C
PORT HARCOURT 20°C-30°C
How Passage of Budget, Cabinet Reshuffle Delayed Buhari’s Trip Olawale Olaleye His desire to reshuffle the cabinet and sign the 2017 budget into law were some of the major reasons President Muhammadu Buhari might have delayed his trip to the United Kingdom for a medical follow-up on an undisclosed ailment,
THISDAY has learnt. A presidency source told THISDAY yesterday that the president knew his trip to the UK to cater to his health was long overdue, but was determined to resolve these two critical matters on his table before leaving. Continued on page 10
…N’Assembly Increases 2017 Budget by N143bn, To Pass Spending Bill Thursday Mild drama in Senate over Osinbajo’s coordinating status Acting president: Buhari handed over to me
Damilola Oyedele and James Emejo in Abuja The National Assembly has increased the size of the 2017 budget proposed by the executive by N143 billion, from N7.298 trillion to N7.441 trillion.
This is as the Senate and House of Representatives laid the harmonised report of the 2017 Appropriation Bill at their respective plenary sessions yesterday. Continued on page 10
DAMIEN HIRST IN NIGERIAN HOT SOUP NLNG: Amendment of Act Will Portray COPYCAT… Original of the Ife terracotta sculpture (Circa 12th-14th century) on the left and the copy (right) displayed by multimillionaire artist, Damien Hirst, at his Venice show, “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” at Palazzo Grassi, without Nigeria as Promise Breaker… Page 11 British attribution to Ife or Nigeria, where the original was sculpted at least nine centuries ago (See story on page 9)