Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On April 26, 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Nigerian President Olusegu Obasanjo signed an agreement to exchange four oil drilling licenses for a commitment of $4 billion USD in infrastructure from China to Nigeria. Under this agreement, Nigeria would grant China the first right of refusal to China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) on four oil exploration blocks at an auction next month. China had hoped to buy a controlling stake in Nigeria's 110,000 barrel/day Kaduna oil refinery and to reconstruct Kaduna's facilities for $2 billion USD. However, in 2007, China failed to win the auction for Kaduna's stakes. The statuses of the power station and the promised infrastructure are unknown. There are three projects attached to this initial agreement as part of Nigeria's 'oil for infrastructure' plan: the 1315 Lagos-Kano section railway, the rehabilitation of the Kaduna oil refinery, and the building of the Mambilla hydroelectric power station. All three projects were put on hold in 2007 after Musa Yar'Adua came into power. These projects are listed under IDs #195, #1999, #1818, and #1990. The Mambilla hydroelectric plant is back under way (#1990). A Nigerian news source stated that a Japanese company, Chiyoda Corporation, is rehabilitating the Kaduna refinery. A Chinese firm, Messrs China Civil Engineering Construction Company Nig Ltd, is rehabilitating the railway. This portion is worth approximately $1.487 billion USD with a construction period of 36 months, starting in mid 2012 (see Record ID#195).