Tecnimont, Nigeria’s pick to fix Port Harcourt refinery

Nigeria has awarded the contract to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt Refineries at the cost of $1.5 billion to subsidiaries of Italian multinational, Maire Tecnimont SPA, a leading EPC company in the world – Tecnimont S.p.A. and Tecnimont Nigeria Ltd.

The contract is for the “Phase 1 Rehabilitation Project” by Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), which entails carrying out a complete integrity check and equipment inspections of the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex, owned by Port Harcourt Refinery Co. Ltd. (PHRC), a subsidiary of the NNPC.

The Phase 1 Rehabilitation contract is worth approximately $50 million and entails a six-month assessment at the site with relevant engineering and planning activities for the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex.

The complex is composed of two refineries totalling an overall capacity of approximately 210,000 bpd (barrel per day). The equipment inspections and integrity check are preparatory to a second phase which entails a full rehabilitation of the complex, aimed at restoring the refining capacity to a minimum of 90 percent of capacity utilisation.

The second phase, subject to the successful completion of the integrity check, will be carried out on an EPC basis by Tecnimont and Tecnimont Nigeria, in collaboration with a partner, possibly a Nigerian company, as the NCDMB is part of the process to incorporate local content into the project.

The two-phase revamping project is strategic to the development of the Nigerian hydrocarbons downstream sector, by ramping up its in-country refining capacity, while upgrading processes and ensuring higher-quality, value-added products.

“This contract is a strategic step to enhance our footprint in sub-Saharan Africa, a market with excellent downstream prospects given its demographics, a fast-growing middle class, and the necessity to unlock and retain locally added value by processing natural resources,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, Maire Tecnimont chief executive officer.

Origins

Fiat Engineering S.p.A. set up in the 1930s under the name “Servizio Costruzioni e Impianti Fiat S.A.” as part of the Fiat Group, to make cars and moved to cogeneration and combined cycle plants.

Read Also: Nigeria approves $1.5bn for rehabilitation of Port Harcourt refinery

In 1972, this branch of the business became a separate company and incorporated into a new company, “Fiat Engineering S.p.A.”, and included the design of high-speed railway lines and innovative underground railway systems.

Tecnimont S.p.A. was set up by Montedison, a large chemical company, in Italy in 1973 in order to combine the specialist skills of the Engineering and Development departments of Montecatini, an important Italian chemicals company founded in 1888, and Edison Manufacturing Company, two big names of Italian industry. Montecatini brought the legacy of Giulio Natta (winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1963) and its specialism in the production of polyolefin plants, while Edison had been active in energy production since the 19th century.

Maire Holding in 2004 acquired Fiat Engineering and Maire Tecnimont was formed in 2005 by Maire Holding’s acquisition of Tecnimont. In November, Maire Tecnimont commenced trading on the Milan Stock Exchange by IPO and between 2008 and 2010, the Group expanded internationally, completing the acquisition of Tecnimont ICB in India (2008), the Dutch company Stamicarbon (2009), and Technip KTI (2010), today KT – Kinetics Technology.

By 2016, the group opted for a technology-driven strategy in the field of hydrocarbon transformation, while gradually adopting renewable energy production and green chemistry.

Tecnimont SPA is located in Milano, Italy, and is part of the Engineering Services Industry. It deals in plant engineering in oil and gas, chemicals and petrochemicals, green chemistry, and in technology supporting the energy transition

Tecnimont is part of Maire Tecnimont Group, comprising over 50 companies in 45 countries with over 5,960 employees from 74 nationalities out of which 3,081 are in engineering.

The group raked in over €2.6 billion in revenue last year out of which operating cashflow was around a €172 million. But it claims a strong and growing commercial pipeline of €53.2 billion in the traditional business. It is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.

It is, however, a technology leader with a capacity to translate cutting-edge research into technological solutions. It has over 1,725 patents, six innovation centres, and 81 innovation projects around the world.

“There is no question that Nigeria is partnering with a reputable company, but we should find the details and understand the cost structure,” said a former NNPC executive, who does not want to be named.

Track record

Maire Tecnimont and its subsidiaries have been awarded dozens of refinery repair contracts from Europe to Asia and Africa. It is the EPC company of choice for many African refineries.

In 2019, Maire Tecnimont’s subsidiary KT – Kinetics Technology was awarded an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract from a subsidiary of ENI in Angola. Eni has a cooperation agreement with Sonangol to realise upgrading projects of the Luanda Refinery.

The contract has a value of approximately $200 million and represents a major part of the cooperation agreement between ENI and Sonangol.

The scope of work included Engineering, Procurement, and Construction activities relating to two refining process units, namely, one Naphtha Hydrotreater, including also the naphtha splitting, and one Catalytic Reformer. It also includes some utilities and offsites, as well as the necessary tie-ins for the integration with the existing refinery.

This month, it also secured several awards for a total amount of approximately €220 million for engineering and procurement services, as well as EPC activities for refineries in Europe.