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Nigeria, China Sign $23 Billion Oil Refinery Deal

   VOA News 15 May 2010

   Nigeria  has  signed  a  $23 billion agreement with China to construct
   three  gasoline  refineries  and  a  fuel complex in the oil-rich, but
   gas-starved African nation.
   The deal between state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and
   China  State  Construction Engineering Corporation Limited is expected
   to add 750,000 barrels a day to Nigeria's refining capability.
   Nigeria  said  in a statement it wants to reduce the approximately $10
   billion a year it spends to import refined fuel. Â
   It  was  not  immediately clear when construction would begin or where
   the refineries would be placed.
   Production   at   Nigeria's   four   existing  refineries  has  fallen
   drastically due to corruption and mismanagement.
   Militants in Nigeria's Niger Delta have carried out attacks on the oil
   industry  since  2006,  saying they want the region's residents to get
   more of its oil wealth.
   More  than  four  years  of attacks on the pipelines in the delta have
   sharply cut Nigeria's oil output, allowing Angola to rival the country
   as Africa's leading oil producer.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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