SONARA sharing vital information on company at PROMOTE 2014

Cameroon’s lone National Oil Refining Company Limited, SONARA, is currently dishing out first-hand information about the Company to Cameroonians and other nationals massively visiting their stand at the ongoing 5th edition of the International Exhibition for Enterprises and Partnerships, PROMOTE.

The event, taking place at the precinct of the Yaounde Conference Centre started last Saturday, December 6, and is expected to run up to December 14, 2014.

In a briefing at the site of the event, the Director of Public Relations, Communication and Translation in SONARA, Blasius Ngome, went down memory lane as he told reporters that the Company was created on March 23, 1973, with its installations inaugurated in 1981. He said the “mission of SONARA is to refine crude oil into finished products.”

On the ambitions of the Company, Ngome stated that “since 2010, SONARA has embarked on the extension and modernisation of its installations.” Delving into the objectives of the project, he said, strategically, the company is aiming at maximising the use of crude oil produced in Cameroon and the CEMAC zone.

In economic terms, the project aims at “reaching a critical size in order to improve the using of all units in the refinery. In marketing terms, it is going to maximise production of certain products, namely diesel and kerosene (jet aircraft fuel/kerosene) which are in high demand on the Cameroonian and regional markets.

The surplus quantities [of the products] are intended for the export market in the CEMAC zone, West African Coast, the USA, France and so on. The characteristics of these products are identical to those of the local market,” Ngome stated.

He highlighted huge benefits that would accrue from the project to include an increase in production capacity of the installations from the current 2.1 million tons to 3.5 million tons.

“The domestic market is already satisfied. SONARA will, therefore, further develop its market shares for export with a priority on our hinterland. It also gives the refinery flexibility in the management of production,” he remarked.

The project “will give the Company the ability to refine all types of crude oil, particularly crude produced in Cameroon. The number of trucks to be loaded per day will increase - thanks to the construction of an additional loading block and improved measuring equipment. The safety of facilities and the running of the units will be significantly enhanced through the digital system and the blast proof control room,” Ngome told the press.

He added that “on the environment side, the modernisation of the refinery will reduce polluting gas emissions, and the expansion and modernisation of the water treatment plants will help obtain water discharge that meets specifications.” He said in the social domain, the project will ultimately create jobs and specialties, transfer of technology, sustainability of the refinery and energy self-sufficiency.

Ngome disclosed that the first phase of the project, which is expected to be completed in 2015, will cost FCFA 220 billion, while the second phase stands at FCFA 400 billion giving a total cost of FCFA 620 billion for both phases. He described the project as one of the biggest being promoted by Government in the country.

“Upon completion, this project will put Cameroon on the super highway of emergence in 2035 as propounded by President Paul Biya,” he held.

He observed that the General Manager of SONARA, Ibrahim Talba Malla, had understood that Cameroonians love their Company which is today a national breadbasket for the country.

“Cameroonians are very much interested in having the right information from the right source about the future prospects of the Company and that is why the GM sent us here at PROMOTE to provide that vital information to all and sundry.”

As of now, SONARA is refining about 10 percent of crude from Cameroon, while the remaining 90 percent is imported from other countries. According to the Director of Public Relations, Communication and Translation in SONARA, when installations of the extension project would have been through, about 70 percent of the crude will be refined by the Company, thereby reducing the cost of production and enhancing quick delivery of the products. He added that power generation for operations in the Company would move from the current nine to 15 megawatts.

He remarked that the extension project, in itself, has created jobs as some 24 Engineers, other category of workers, are currently working at the site. Ngome said employment opportunities are likely to increase upon completion of the project.

“In addition to this, training openings will come and transfer of new technologies which will benefit SONARA and the whole country will become a reality,” Ngome maintained.

The installation units to be provided by the first phase of the project include atmospheric distillation with a capacity of 3.5 millions MT/year, vacuum distillation of 1.3 millions MT/year, catalytic reforming of 0.305 millions MT/year, cogeneration of electricity of 15 MW, vapour of 22 T/h and a new storage capacity.

Meanwhile the second phase will provide hydrocracking with a capacity of 816 KT per year, hydrogen production of 17000Nm3/h, Recovery of hydrogen (PSA) of 15000 Nm3/h, recovery of sulphur of 10 T/day, a new water stripper and a new gas flare.

Ngome told the press that, through their information sharing initiative at PROMOTE 2014; the corporate visibility of the Company would be enhanced. Other collaborators such as Gladys Ebanga Arrey, Chief of Service for Public Relations in SONARA and Jean Claude Melong Mbock are having a very busy schedule as they are also receiving and briefing hundreds of visitors at the SONARA stand.