JUST IN: Warri refinery resumes operations, says NNPCL

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced that the Warri Refining & Petrochemicals Company, with a capacity of 125,000 barrels per day, is now operational.

This development comes just weeks after the Port Harcourt Refinery resumed operations, marking a significant milestone for Nigeria’s oil industry.

Mele Kyari, the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, disclosed this during a facility tour on Monday. The visit also included key stakeholders such as Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

During the tour, Kyari emphasized the importance of transparency, explaining that the inspection aimed to showcase the progress made in revitalizing the refinery.

While repairs on the facility are still ongoing and not yet fully completed, he confirmed that operations have already commenced.

He said, “We are taking you through our plant. This plant is running. Although it is not 100 per cent complete, we are still in the process. Many people think these things are not real. They think real things are not possible in this country. We want you to see that this is real.”

Located in Ekpan, Uwvie, and Ubeji, Warri, the petrochemical plant produces 13,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTA) of polypropylene and 18,000 MTA of carbon black.

Commissioned in 1978 and managed by NNPCL, the WRPC was built to supply markets in the southern and southwestern regions of Nigeria.

The mechanical completion of the facility was initially scheduled for the first quarter of 2024, according to the NNPCL spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye.

“Warri should be done by Q1 (first quarter) 2024,” Soneye stated.

The WRPC is one of Nigeria’s four refineries, alongside the old and new Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company in Kaduna State.

(Punch)