Update: In September 2021, BUA Group let a contract to OLAX Engineering to provide project management consultancy services for the FEED of its integrated refining and petrochemical complex under development in Nigeria's state of Akwa Ibom (OGJ Online, Sept. 7, 2021).
Privately held BUA Group, Lagos, has let a contract to KBR Inc. to provide front-end engineering design (FEED) for a new petrochemical unit to be built at subsidiary BUA Refinery’s 200,000-b/d grassroots integrated refining and petrochemical complex under development in Nigeria's state of Akwa Ibom.
As part of the contract, KBR will focus on sustainability measures for the new complex, which will include installations for sulfur removal water treatment to meet stringent environmental standards, as well as heat-integration capabilities to ensure long-term production efficiency, the service provider said on May 10.
FEED will examine and recommend sustainable technologies for the complex aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help limit the site’s carbon footprint, according to KBR.
The FEED award for BUA’s Akwa Ibom complex follows KBR’s earlier completion of the project’s conceptual feasibility study in 2018, KBR said.
KBR most recently let contracts to Lummus Novolen Technology GMBH to provide technology licensing for a polypropylene (PP) unit at the complex, as well as to Axens Group for delivery of basic engineering, proprietary equipment, catalysts, adsorbents, as well as training and technical services, for the planned multibillion-dollar RFCC-based complex that—alongside propylene, an essential component for the petrochemical industry used in PP-based plastics and packaging—will produce high-quality gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel meeting Euro 5-quality specifications for the Nigerian and regional markets (OGJ Online, Apr. 29, 2021; Sept. 2, 2020).
Sited in Akwa Ibom to take advantage of the location’s proximity to raw feedstocks and export routes to regional countries, BUA Refinery’s integrated complex—slated for commissioning in 2024—will help reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuels and petrochemicals, as well as reduce the country’s costs of shipping its domestic crude production abroad for refining by other operators, according to BUA.
