The Vice Presidency of Equatorial Guinea has announced the signing of a new agreement between national oil company GEPetrol and Chinese companies China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and CIRDL for the construction of a new 20,000 bpd refinery.
The deal was signed on August 16th during a signing ceremony presided by Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue at the Palacio del Pueblo in Malabo.
Financing is expected to be covered at 44% by Equatorial Guinea and 56% by its new Chinese partners.
Equatorial Guinea has had refining ambitions for several years as it tries to expand its downstream infrastructure. From Punta Europa on Bioko Island, the country has already established one of Africa’s most successful downstream gas hubs producing liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and methanol.
In March 2020, Equatorial Guinea had notably shortlisted Petrojet of Egypt, Rosslyn Energy of the UK, a Spanish-Russian group of Selquimica International with Engineering and Energy, and the UAE’s SDLE International for a new modular refinery in Kogo South on Bata. The same year, American company VFuels had been awarded the feasibility study for another modular refinery at Punta Europa.