Mobil and Shell estimate Nigeria refinery repairs at $ 1 bn

Paul Caldwell, managing director of Mobil Producing Nigeria has said that Nigeria needs to spend $ 1 billion to put the country's troubled 4 oil refineries back to normal operation level. He said his company arrived at the figure after an independent joint-assessment with Shell Nigeria.
Faults in Nigeria's 4 refineries -- two in south-eastern Port-Harcourt and one each in midwestern Warri and northern Kaduna -- with a combined output capacity to process 445,000 bpd of crude have made them operate well below that level. As a result, the oil-producing nation faces sporadic fuel shortages, forcing it to resort to imports to meet local demands.
Oil minister Dan Etete said that technical experts had quoted between $ 1 and $ 1.2 billion as costs for repairing the refineries, adding that this was responsible for the delay in awarding contracts for the turn around maintenance.
Nigeria has received proposals from several multinational oil firms, including Mobil and Shell, on how to run the refineries.
Caldwell said state oil company Nigerian National Petroleum Corp was currently studying the technical details of the Mobil-Shell proposal to repair and run the refineries.
"Later, we shall jointly write a report and submit it to the Nigerian oil ministry by end-Oct. and wait for government's decision," he said.