In the presence of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, South Korean developer Daewoo E&C and its Nigerian counterpart signed a letter of intent to renovate the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited in Kaduna State.

Commissioned in 1980, the Kaduna refinery can produce up to 110,000 barrels of oil per day and is located in Chikun LGA, Kaduna, Nigeria. It is scheduled to be reopened due to the letter of intent signed by the group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kolo Kyari, and the CEO of Daewoo E&C, Baek Jung-wan. For several years, the refinery had to stop operating numerous times because of outdated infrastructure

According to officials, Daewoo E&C intends to complete the Kaduna refinery rehabilitation project by signing the official contract with the NNPC by the first quarter of 2023. On June 24, Daewoo E&C also inked a roughly $492.3 million renovation project of the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, another subsidiary of NNPC.

Commenting, President Buhari, who is currently on a trip to South Korea, said: “I will gladly support projects that Daewoo E&C is already carrying out in Nigeria and I also look forward to new ones to come. We have already opened up more windows for Daewoo E&C.”

An official from the company said: “Daewoo E&C has been practicing people-to-people diplomacy in Nigeria for the past 40 years of experience in the country carrying out more than 70 projects there.”

“By submitting the letter of intent signed today, we hope to broaden our business portfolio to not only repairing aging oil refineries but also make new ones, and also increase the possibility of operating oil refineries on consignment in the future.”