By William Madouk
The managing director of Nilepet, Eng. Bernard Amour Makeny has revealed a plan to build an oil refinery, including an oil depot storage facility, to ease fuel supply for local consumption.
He made this disclosure on Wednesday after meeting President Salva Kiir Mayardit. Eng. Amour presented to the president his next strategic plan for the new-look Nilepet’s progression to be on par with its peers in the region.
“I was able to clearly outline the strategic plans of Nilepet going forward after the commissioning of the building,” Amour told the media after the meeting.
“The next target will obviously be to work on the refinery and the storage facility. I will be able to build the right capacity in order for us to compete in the region and also to compete globally in terms of the oil and gas industry,” he added.
Eng. Amour stated that he assured the president of the Republic of his double efforts to solve the challenges facing the oil and gas industry.
“I was also able to brief H.E. on the progress of the situation on the pipelines (BS3), (BS4), and the progress of the maintenance that is going on in Sudan and the challenges that, of course, they will overcome,” he highlighted.
“In the oil and gas industry, such incidences are expected; it doesn’t mean a total shutdown; it means a period where engineers have to fix what has been damaged, and hopefully in the next couple of weeks the oil flow will be as normal,” Bernard assured.
He also stated that the new oil and gas company’s headquarters are expected to be officially inaugurated on March 2, 2024, by the head of state.
With the plan to establish oil refinery, Nilepet aims to boost its capacity to produce refined petroleum products, which would help reduce the country’s reliance on imported fuel.
Construction of an oil depot storage facility will provide a reliable storage infrastructure to ensure a steady and uninterrupted fuel supply.