US oil major Chevron will build a 30, 000 barrels per day refinery in Nigeria in joint venture partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), local media reported Friday.

Nigeria's ThisDay newspaper quoted Funsho Kupolokun, head of the NNPC, as saying that contract for the construction of the plant, which would be sited in Escravos area in the southern oil- rich Niger Delta, would soon be awarded.

Kupolokun said that production from the refinery was to be skewed towards more diesel and fuel oil volumes and that the corporation planned to use the venture as a launch pad for its engagement into "the business of legal and licensed bunkering."

As Africa's top oil producer, Nigeria is still forced to import more than half its daily demand of 30 million liters of fuel. Its four aged state-owned refineries are currently performing at above 75 percent output.

Source: Xinhua