TheCable

President Emmanuel Macron of France has commended Abdul Samad Rabiu, chairman of BUA group, over the progress of the group’s refinery in Akwa Ibom.

Last year, BUA signed a deal with Axens, a French energy company, as the technology provider for its greenfield 200,000 bpd refinery and petrochemical plant.

Franck Riester, French minister for foreign trade and economic attractiveness, expressed Macron’s commendation during his visit to the BUA group headquarters in Lagos.

The minister handed over a personal invitation from Macron to Rabiu seeking his presence at the Choose France Summit representing business leaders from Nigeria and Africa.

The summit scheduled for the month of June will be held in Paris.

He also announced Rabiu as the chairman of the France Nigeria Investment Club.

Represented by Riester, Macron said the government of France is ready to support people-oriented and developmental projects in Nigeria.

The French minister also witnessed the signing of a progress acknowledgement statement between BUA group and Axens.

He commended Rabiu for his commitment to developing lasting relationships between French and Nigerian businesses.

“I am very pleased to see how committed Abdul Samad Rabiu is for the refinery and in the space of philanthropy,” Macron said.

“I want to stress how keen you were in promoting the interest of Nigeria and its people during our meeting in Paris and how committed you were to make the economy stronger and more resilient.

“I want to congratulate you for the vision and ambition you demonstrate in many sectors in your will to build projects shaping the future of Nigeria. We think that we have to support long term investment of French companies in Nigeria and Nigeria companies in France and this project of refinery is a wonderful project for Nigeria.”

In his remarks, the BUA group chairman thanked the minister and Macron for their unwavering support in bringing BUA and French businesses together.

He said BUA had initiated partnerships and have developed personal relationships with a few French businesses, including Axens.

He expressed confidence in the quality of expertise and technical know-how of the French companies BUA has partnered with.

Rabiu said the BUA refinery, when fully operational, will reduce the huge cost transporting crude oil offshore, refining it, and bringing it back into the country.

He added that the decision to site the refinery in Akwa Ibom was strategic due to huge availability of raw materials and its proximity to export petroleum products to regional countries.

On his part, Jean Sentenac, president of Axens, said he is pleased that the refinery project is advancing on schedule.

He commended the cooperation among parties and reiterated the commitment of Axens to delivering the BUA refinery project on time and with the highest standards.

The French minister was accompanied by Jerome Pasquier, ambassador of France in Nigeria; Laurence Monmayrant, consul general of France in Lagos; Quentin Teisseire, France chief of staff; Alexis du Boisberranger, technical advisor for export and strategic partnership; Benedicte Constans, advisor to the minister, in charge of communication; Pascal Furth, regional economic counsellor, French embassy amongst others.