Lonrho Africa looking to expand Luba Freeport into West African oil hub

Lonrho Africa looking to expand Luba Freeport into West African oil hub    Lonrho Africa, the majority owner of Luba Freeport Ltd. in Equatorial Guinea, has appointed JURONG Primewide Pte Ltd. to plan and design the expansion of the port to become a regional hub for the oil industry on the West Coast of Africa.
   As part of the expansion, Luba Freeport's jetty and facilities will be pushed out towards the sea to give up to 18 meters (59 feet) of draft which will facilitate the servicing of the largest ocean-going vessels.
   'Luba Freeport is being established as a 'One Stop Shop' for oil logistics in one of the fastest growing, oil-producing areas in the world,' said David Lenigas, Lonrho Africa's joint chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement.
   Lonrho Africa paid $2 million for its 63 percent of the issued share capital of Luba Freeport in May. The company said that it is in discussions with a number of parties to help fund its expansion plans for the port.
   Luba Freeport's major contracted clients include Amerada Hess, Mobil Equatorial Guinea, Baker Hughes, Marathon, LOTEG, Schlumberger, Nalco, SBM,
Chevron Texaco, Devon Energy, Petronas, Noble Energy and MI Equatorial Guinea.
   JURONG Primewide is part of JURONG International, wholly-owned by JTC Corp., who in mid-2001 built Singapore's second-largest port, Jurong Port to handle a mixture of bulk, breakbulk and container cargo.