The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Kogi State government have signed a MoU to develop fuel-ethanol processing plant that would produce 84mn litres of bio-fuel per year
Speaking during the signing of the MoU, the group managing director of the NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, said that the project is expected to yield a cane mill and a raw and refined Sugar Plant of 126,000 tonnes annually.
He also stated that the Bagasse co-generation Plant is set to generate 64MW of power, stressing that the plant would include a carbon dioxide recovery and bottling plant with capacity of 2,000 tonnes per year.
“The sugarcane feedstock plantation would be on a 19,000 ha and it would produce animal feeds of 63,000 tonnes per year,” he added.
He further stated that discussions had been held with the various parties and stakeholders on the Kogi Biofuels Project on the modality for the implementation, adding that agreements had been reached on the first stage of the project, starting with the signing of an MoU.
Baru stated that the renewable energy division of NNPC was created in line with Federal Government’s directive with the aim of industrialising agriculture in Nigeria through the commercial production of biofuels from selected energy crops as feedstock, while fostering the exploitation of other renewable energy sources.
The group managing director envisaged that the proposed NNPC Biofuels project in Kaba/Bunu, Kogi State would be an integrated feedstock plantation and process plants complex on a land mass of 20,000 ha for sugarcane and or 15,000 ha for cassava with potentials for further expansion.
