China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) is negotiating a US$450 million oil refinery project in Equatorial Guinea.
Vice-President Nguema Obiang Mangue said that Equatorial Guinea has long been interested in building a refinery, but previous proposed projects had not proved advantageous.
The CRCC refinery will also produce asphalt, plastic containers and other petroleum derivatives, and will refine at least 20,000 barrels per day.
The government gave the green light for the Equatorial Guinean commission to continue discussing the project’s fine details with the Chinese company for a mutually beneficial agreement.
The project was reviewed in a meeting attended by the Minister of Finance, Valentin Ela Maye, the General Treasurer of the State, Milagrosa Obono Angue, and the General Director of Gepetrol, Antonio Oburu Ondo.
Oil and gas extraction dominates the economy of Equatorial Guinea and accounts for approximately 90 per cent of the country’s GDP.
Equatorial Guinea production of crude oil totalled 85,000 barrels per day in December 2021, up from 71,000 barrels per day previous month.
Last April, during an extraordinary meeting of Forum Macao, Equatorial Guinea was admitted as the ninth Portuguese-speaking country member of the organisation headed by China.
