The Free Zone developer’s status granted to Notore Chemical Industries Plc will enable the oil and gas petrochemical industry to create 15,000 jobs and attract $5 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), it was learnt yesterday.
The company has a direct port access and a dedicated jetty at Onne Complex, near Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Notore was awarded the Free Zone status by the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA) last December.
On the company’s prospects, Managing Director/CEO Mr. Onajite Okoloko said the goal was to set up an industrial oil and gas and petrochemical complex that would attract investments and create thousands of jobs for Nigerians.
He added that the company was in a unique position, given that the Onne Complex is located within the Notore Free Zone, which provides “significant tax benefits and advanced logistics solutions for international distribution of products”.
“The Onne Complex comprises approximately 560 hectares of land owned by Notore with 2km of waterfront including the Notore Port and a dedicated jetty, with a capacity to accommodate vessels with a maximum volume of 15,000MT, all owned by the group. “Direct port status through ownership of the Notore Port gives the group easy access to the Atlantic Ocean for easy import of raw materials and export of the group’s products to the rest of the world, as well as a more cost-effective operation, which is a strong competitive advantage,” Okoloko said.
The Notore chief executive said his company would in the next few months roll out its plan for the industrial complex at Onne, adding that part of the objective was to make it a hub for gas utilisation that will serve as the feedstock for its fertilizer, petrochemical and power plants.
Okoloko said: “Through our gas sale agreement with an indigenous oil and gas company, Eroton Exploration & Production Limited, we have guaranteed gas supply to the complex.
“So the gas supply shortages that we once experienced are a thing of the past. With this in place, we can now focus on the construction of the second train for Notore, which will co-produce 1,000,000MT of fertilizer per annum and half a million metric tonnes of methanol annually at Notore’s certified brownfield site.
“This together with its existing plant is expected to achieve an aggregate increase in Notore’s fertilizer production capacity from 500,000MMTPA to approximately 1,500,000MTPA of fertilizer and also introduce 500,000MTPA of other petrochemicals.
“Discussions are progressing with Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan and other investors while preliminary studies have started for Train 2.”
Notore is in discussions with Mitsubishi on developing a methanol plant at the site and is seeking alliances with other petrochemical, oil and gas logistics and infrastructure companies and financial and strategic investors to participate in developing the Free Zone.
Okoloko described OGFZA as a very important enabler of industrialisation in Nigeria, adding: “This zone will diversify the company’s focus on refining, methanol, power, E&P logistics and hydrocarbon processing.
“I also hope that it will spur wider growth in the Nigerian economy, moving economic activity towards the higher end of the value chain. We look forward to continuing to work towards the achievement of Notore’s goal of being a world-class industrial complex.”
Source: NATION NEWS