Both the acting managing director of Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), Mrs. Usua Ofonmbuk Edet, and the managing director of Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), Engr. Ibrahim Onoja, are under pressure to deliver as the deadline of December to resume full petrol production approaches.
The Port Harcourt and Warri refineries’ December deadline to resume operations, according to the federal government, was left unaltered.
The federal administration had made hints that the two facilities will begin operating in December and refine 160 barrels of crude oil day on the local level.
The Port Harcourt refinery will initially provide 60 bpd within the same period, while the Warri refinery would start producing 100 barrels per day by December.
Senator Heineken Loikpobiri, the minister of state for petroleum (Oil), recently revealed this during a visit to the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC).
Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of NNPCL, together with other senior management figures and managing directors of the oil conglomerate’s strategic business units, accompanied Lokpobiri.
Femi Fagbuaro, the project manager, who was speaking on behalf of the MD of WRPC, said that the plant will begin operating in December with 100 bpd, or around 60% of its installed capacity, and would then increase to reach its maximum output capability.
The MD of PHRC, Engr Onoja, stated that the plant would start producing 60 bpd by December and eventually reach over 200 bpd in December 2024.
It is deliberate because I have contacted the MDs of the various refineries, who are there to give us daily briefings about the progress done, Lokpobiri said. “That is why I have come, so that nobody will say I am in Abuja and making statements there, ” he added.
“You caught me when I stated I’d hold them responsible for the dates they gave Nigerians.
“For the time being, I want Nigerians to have hope that, if this rehabilitation is successful, we will put them to the best possible use for Nigerians.
“The refinery, which is crucial to the government, and NNPCL are owned by the government.
“I want to look into how this location can be completely renovated so we can halt or scale back the amount of goods imported into the nation.”
