The Chairman of a Russian firm, Safinet Group, Mr. Arsen Mudonov, has stated that his company wants to take advantage of the conducive and peaceful environment of Cross River and Calabar in particular to establish the refinery of 7,000 barrels production capacity a day which will be increased to between 60,000 to 65,000 barrels a day in the near future.
Mr. Arsen Mudonov disclosed this during a meeting with the state governor, Senator Ben Ayade in Calabar recently. He said that his group decided to come to Cross River to establish the refinery because of the peace and tranquility that the state is known for in addition to the hospitable nature of the people. Mudonov added that, his company has been expanding its operations to different parts of the world including Africa in the last five years, and that company is into construction, oil and gas with advanced technology in the construction of oil and gas equipment and machines.
Delighted to the new development, Governor Ben Ayade said his administration has turned the state into an investors’ haven by creating a conducive atmosphere for investment. The governor also reiterated that the peaceful and hospitable nature of the state and its citizens were recently attested to by the outgoing United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr John Erntwhistle, who picked the state as his most favourite place in Nigeria.
According to CrossRiverWatch, Governor Ayade informed the delegation that Cross River state is always the first port of call and choice for investors and that the state is on the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean in the South, which makes it a good candidate for oil and gas business.
“If you are putting a refinery and your sources of shipping in the crude is by barges then the refinery being located by the waterside becomes easy. Even if you want a solid land location, we also have solid earth where you can have access to bring in your crude by barges and then have pipelines to take the crude to your refinery.
“Cross River is close to so many oil wells, so building your refinery here is like eating your cake and having it. We have good roads, we are building a super highway and a deep seaport at the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean. Again, Cross River is closer to Russia than any other place in Nigeria in terms of seaport”.
Also speaking was the Chief Executive officer (CEO), Hkzain Corporation Limited, Mallam Muhammad Attahiru, who said that, they were in the state to present technological innovation in the area of oil and gas that will provide job opportunities to the people in line with the vision and policy thrust of Governor Ben Ayade’s administration.
Mr. Attahiru assured that Safinet has the experience, capability and the expertize in the areas of construction, oil and gas and that they have established in North Africa and South Sudan and that they want the government of Cross River to give them the opportunity to establish their presence in the state, and assured that they will not disappoint the state.