Waltersmith Refining & Petrochemical rolls out growth strategy  

Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Company is a Joint venture (JV) between Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited, a leading independent Nigerian Energy company with 70% equity and the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board, a Federal Government of Nigeria parastatal with 30% equity.

Waltersmith Petroman was established as an E&P Company in 1996 and successfully acquired the Ibigwe Marginal Field (OML-16) license in 2005 and delivered first oil in 2008. On the back of this successful entry into the Nigerian oil and gas industry, Waltersmith quickly grew production to over 7,000 bopd, built a 15,000 bopd Flowstation at Ibigwe to process crude from the Ibigwe Field and the neighboring NNPC/ SEPLAT JV Ohaji South Field in OML-53. Anticipating additional growth in production from this hub, Waltersmith is expanding this facility to handle 20,000 bopd by the end of 2020.

In addition to this operated asset, Waltersmith Petroman is part of the ND Western Consortium operating the OML-34 license in a Joint Venture with NNPC using an Asset Management Team (AMT) structure.

As part of Waltersmith’s Growth strategy, in 2017 Waltersmith acquired a 300MW Power license for the planned Waltersmith Ugamma Power Plant, which would also involve processing about 225MMscfd of gas from assets within 30km of the Ibigwe Field (the Ibigwe Hub Strategy). This will, in addition to providing power for Waltersmith’s growing Industrial Complex in Ibigwe, deliver significant additional power to the Nation, therefore delivering massive GDP growth for the consumers of this Energy.

Furthering this strategy of domestic energy security, Waltersmith carried out a feasibility study for modular refining in support of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s aspiration and with the proximity of many producing oil, gas and condensate fields in the Ibigwe Hub. By 2018, Final Investment Decision (FID) had been taken and in October 2018 the groundbreaking ceremony was done, effectively kicking off the construction phase in November 2018. The first phase of this modular Refinery targeted 5,000 bopd of own operated crude as feedstock with alternative sources including the over 7,000 bopd NNPC/SEPLAT OML-53 JV Ohaji South production processed at Waltersmith’s Ibigwe Flow station. Negotiations on Crude Sales and Purchase agreements are at an advanced stage with both SEPLAT and NNPC.

The 5,000 bopd Phase 1 Refinery was to be commissioned in Q2 2020, at which time it had progressed to 98% completion, but was delayed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Commissioning is now planned for late September / Early October 2020 and the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was invited with other dignitaries for a pre-commissioning tour of the Refinery on Tuesday the 15^th of September 2020. The Phase 1 of this Refinery will deliver about 271 million liters of refined petroleum products (Diesel, Kerosene, Heavy Fuel Oil-HFO and Naphtha) per annum.

With the exceptional planning and execution of this first Phase of the refinery, Waltersmith initiated the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) for the 25,000 bpd Phase 2 Condensate Refinery and the 20,000 bopd Phase 3 oil Refinery to maximize feedstock from the nearby ANOH Gas Plant Company (AGPC) and some additional Commercial discussions were progressed on some nearby oil and gas assets, with the investments proposed by Waltersmith to develop the oil assets to be used as feedstock for the 20,000 bopd Refinery andthe gas assets for the 300MW Gas Power Plant, both enormously strategic to the domestic energy security strategy of Waltersmith and aspirations of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

These commercial discussions on both the Condensate feedstock, the crude oil and gas developments strategies are currently ongoing and Waltersmith has approached NNPC for its support in making this a reality.

The 25,000 bpd Phase 2 Condensate Refinery FEED was completed in Q1 2020, Feasibility study in Q2 2020 and the EPCIC Contracting process has been initiated with Final Investment Decision planned for Q4 2020 and delivery by Q4 2022. The groundbreaking ceremony will be done in conjunction with the commissioning of the 5,000 bopd Phase 1 Refinery in September / October 2020. When completed the Phase 2 will deliver about 1.4 billion liters per year of refined petroleum products (Premium Motor Spirit – PMS, Diesel, Kerosene, Aviation Jet Fuel and HFO) in addition to the 271 million liters from the Phase 1.

Waltersmith Petroman has also initiated feasibility studies for a 500 hectare Industrial and Innovation Park to be built as a logical expansion of the Energy Hub with the Upstream E&P, Refining and Gas to Power businesses. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and several other Industrial Offtakers, Financial Institutions etc. have indicated strong interest in partnering with Waltersmith. This Industrial and Innovation Park is planned to be provided with low cost production costs (especially from power and other utilities), infrastructural facilities (Roads, water and waste products that can by used in a Sustainable and Industrial Ecological manner through Industrial symbiosis), Development of Commercial Institutions, Banks, Housing, Schools, Healthcare and achieve co-location synergies including raw materials, marketing and distribution. Technological Innovation centers will also be created in this Industrial Complex.

The overall impact of these investments by Waltersmith is to create the enabling environment to promote Industrialization and significantly promote Economic and GDP growth.

Current estimates of direct and indirect job creation in this Industrial hub during the planning, design, construction and commissioning phases will exponentially grow from an estimate of over 500 jobs in 2020 to over 18,000 jobs by the commissioning of the Industrial Complex in about 2025. This will then be followed by an even greater exponential growth in job creation when the manufacturing, commercial, residential and technology innovation hubs go into operation post 2025.

Of note is the massive impact this will have on the growth of the Host, Access and other communities in this Area, including the job opportunities both in skilled, unskilled and Community contracts this will generate. Building on Waltersmith’s highly successful Community Engagement Strategy, that has secured License to Operate for over a decade, over NGN1.0 billion will be committed to Community projects in line with the existing 2019 – 2024 GMOU. In addition, Waltersmith is committed to the NGN460 million ISOPADEC Ohaji/Egbema Electrification Project to which it has agreed to contribute 50% and technical advice, as required, and has already paid a substantial part of this pledge.

We are also expanding our Technical Skills Acquisition Program to train an initial crop of 80 graduates from the Community to become highly skilled professionals.

Waltersmith released its maiden Sustainability Report in 2019 which captures its plans for Delivery, Growth and Sustainability in its Strategy. The Sustainability Report demonstrates our clear commitment to the 17 SDGs. As part of our leadership in the energytransition, along the lines of the SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), Waltersmith plans to transit fully to Gas for all its energy requirements and then to Renewable Energy as a significant portion of its Energy mix.

Waltersmith has created great partnerships with several Federal Government entities and continues to seek their support to make these strategic projects a reality. The immediate areas of support are in the access to feedstock for its refinery and gas projects both through third party suppliers where Government has equity and commercial agreements that will enable Waltersmith develop and operate additional oil and gas assets.