LONDON—Nigeria and China have signed a tentative deal to build three oil refineries in the West African state at a cost of $23 billion, in a move to boost badly needed gasoline supply in Nigeria and to position China for more access to the country's coveted high-quality oil reserves. "This is a deal we need for Nigeria to cut our reliance on imports," said a senior Nigerian oil official. He said the Chinese commitment to build refineries in Nigeria—a country that has long spent billions of dollars annually importing gasoline due to rickety refineries at home—would also help put China "in the running" for getting additional access to oil acreage in Nigeria, one of Africa's biggest crude producers and exporters. "This is business, but it builds goodwill in addition," the official said.
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Sunday, 16 May 2010
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