The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has opened bids for the co-location of new plants within its existing refineries.

The Chief Operating Officer of the NNPC, Mr Anibo Kragha, explained that the bidding was a demonstration of the government’s determination to increase the nation’s crude oil refining capacity from 445,000 barrels per day to 650,000 barrels per day.

According to him, a technical evaluation committee has been set up to study the bids and will announce the winners as soon as possible.

The process was witnessed by representatives of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP).